WWE star Rhea Ripley has spoken candidly about her struggles with an eating disorder and the toll that online negativity has taken on her mental health.
Appearing on Pod Meets World, Ripley discussed how her challenges have fluctuated over time, noting that her environment and support system play a major role in how she manages those struggles.
“I find it goes through waves where it’s really difficult, and then sometimes really easy. This past year has been really difficult because I’ve found that if my circle at home isn’t at peace, that’s when I really struggle.”
Ripley emphasized the importance of surrounding herself with positive influences, crediting her close relationships for helping her stay grounded.
“That’s why I try to surround myself with people I know are there for me and care about me, because that’s my strong point. My husband is my strong point. My dogs are my strong point. My friend Tommy, who’s at our house every day—we work out together—it’s a positive environment.”
She also addressed the challenges of dealing with constant criticism on social media, particularly the difficulty of separating her professional presence from personal attacks.
“It’s really hard going onto Twitter. I just need to delete the app. It’s really hard going on and trying to make it a work environment, but because it is a work environment, I get all these things coming up on my ‘For You’ page as soon as I open the app. It’s just negativity toward me. I can’t even escape it. I can’t even doom scroll like a normal person without seeing things about me—about my body, my booking, me as a human. They don’t know who I am.”
Ripley explained that sharing her experiences publicly has become important to her, especially in hopes of helping others who may be going through similar situations.
“It does get really tiring, but that’s also why I like to share what I’m going through. I tried to keep the eating disorder quiet for a while because I was still figuring it out, but I try to be as vocal as possible with my struggles. If it’s going to help someone, then why not talk about it? I needed that when I was a kid. If I knew my idols were going through these struggles and still powering through—being amazing—and I look up to them, then I’d feel like I could get through it too.”
She also spoke about the root of her struggles, linking them to stress and a loss of control in various aspects of her life.
“With the eating situation, it definitely stems from stress and not being in control. That’s my biggest thing—I like being in control. But when I can’t control work, my schedule, or at the time my home life—with a now ex-friend who was terrorizing my life—and then going to Australia and not being able to control how crowds reacted to my peers, or the pressure they were under 24/7, and then getting thrown into all that media—it was just a lot all at once. It kind of broke me for a little bit.”
Ripley also addressed speculation surrounding her physical changes, pushing back against rumors.
“It wasn’t seen by everyone yet, but now it is. And I saw so many things out there like, ‘Oh, she had to lose weight because of back pain,’ or ‘she’s off steroids.’ We get tested. I’m not on anything.”
Ripley’s openness highlights the ongoing challenges faced by performers in the spotlight, as well as the importance of mental health awareness within and beyond the wrestling industry.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more updates and interviews.
