IMPACT Wrestling star Kimber Lee has announced that she is stepping away from pro wrestling.
Although she has not had a match since October 2022, Lee is still signed to IMPACT. In a heartfelt post on social media, she explained her decision, admitting that being a wrestler now brings “heartache and anxiety” rather than the “butterflies and joy” she used to experience.
“The goodbye that I thought would never come. The mistress that has overtaken my life for the past 15 years. At times, wrestling was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I have been to places and I have gotten to see things that I never would have dreamed of in my lifetime. But at the same time, there comes a point in everyone’s life where things just cannot continue in the same fashion that they have, because circumstances and goals evolve and change.
“I know that I am coming completely from left field for some of you, and that is understandable as have been rallying as if a comeback is on the way. But that is not the case. I have been deeply working on myself this past year, coming to terms with some very harsh realities, and learning a lot about myself and who I am in the process.
“I originally thought that this was just going to be a break from wrestling. That after some time I would be ready to put my heart into this again and come back better than I have ever been before. But the thing is, the more I think about it, the more I come to realize that my heart is not in this anymore. Kimber Lee brings me instant heartache and anxiety, not the butterflies and joy that once was. There are too many painful wounds that come with going back into this world, and I am not willing to give those wounds my power or dominion over my life anymore.
“With that being said, I will no longer be taking active bookings for the foreseeable future. Kimber is going to step away from the squared circle, and Kimberly Frankele is going out into the world, ready to become something amazing. I know I am being called into my healing abilities, and will be continuing to step forward in that space and I would love to have as many of you as I can along for that journey. When you close one door, you give yourself the opportunity to open up any new door you choose. I have lives to change and heal, and this is my first official step into my true self.
“As the real me. love you all so much, and with this, the Princess takes her final bow.
Let the curtain fall…”
💜🦋 pic.twitter.com/FZDOQTJfqx
— Kimberly Frankele â“Ą (@Kimber_Lee90) May 6, 2023
Kimber Lee recently opened up on her relationship with former WWE star Nash Carter
Nash Carter was released from his WWE contract back in April 2022 while still a reigning NXT Tag Team Champion. The release came after Carter’s now ex-wife, Kimber Lee, took to social media with a number of now-deleted posts, claiming that she had been going through hell since October.
She later explained that the abuse led to her almost taking her own life. The IMPACT Wrestling star said that she had hidden Carter’s abuse in “hopes of keeping a career.”
Kimber Lee followed up by sharing images of herself that she alleges were taken after Carter had “split [her] lip open.” Lee also shared a disturbing image that apparently shows Nash Carter giving a Nazi salute.
In a recent interview, Lee gave more details about the end of their relationship, admitting they “both did terrible things to each other.”
“Were the consequences he had to face because of some of the stuff I did pretty sh**ty? Yeah. Again, like I said, I should have behaved differently, I fully admit that.
“We both did horrible things to each other within that relationship. I fully admit that, too. But I can’t Photoshop what was there; it did happen, it is what it is, and we have to live with it.”
At the time, Lee had said she would be professional if the two were booked on the same wrestling show together, although she was already enjoying the break she had taken from the ring to “do the things that are fun.”