Saraya opens up about her chronic issues with “endo belly”.
Since arriving in AEW last September, Saraya has competed in six matches. Not only is she easing back into the ring because of her previous neck injuries, but the former Divas Champion is also battling endometriosis. During a recent appearance on Wilde On, Saraya explained to Taylor Wilde how it affects her.
“The things that used to bother me the most, out of everything, is the way they would look at my weight,” Saraya said. “Everyone has an opinion about it. Lately, as well, they’re telling me I look a lot bigger than usual. I want to tell them, listen, I’m getting older. I have really bad endometriosis. My belly swells up, I get endo belly. So it swells up for a couple of weeks and it’s really painful. I try and hide it, but I can’t wrestle when my belly is like that. I can’t wear wrestling gear, I’m too swollen. It’s a really painful experience for me, and people just think that I’m fat. You have no idea, but everyone has an opinion.”
She added, “We’re human, we fluctuate. Especially being a woman, we fluctuate a lot. We can’t eat a certain food because all of a sudden we retain a lot of water. We get to a certain age where can’t keep that weight off as much as we want to.”
Saraya then explained how she lost a lot of weight when abusing drugs and alcohol while not taking care of herself. Then when she stopped using drugs, cut back her drinking, and left a toxic relationship, she gained weight back and felt comfortable. However, there was a negative encounter with a fan.
“I was coming out of a building and we’re driving through the fans — because you know how they all wait outside the arena sometimes, it’s truly sweet — but one of them, I rolled the window down and was signing some stuff and he pie-faced me and said, ‘Lose some f*cking weight, Paige.'”
Saraya said her friend/bodyguard hopped out of the car and chased the guy down. She then shared about that experience on social media and fans continued to point out when her weight fluctuates without realizing she has a health condition.
Saraya followed up on her comments from the podcast, posting a statement on Twitter. Saraya said that her endometriosis doesn’t prevent her from wrestling, but she feels uncomfortable and doesn’t want to wear wrestling attire.
“Damn people are on a role today. Misconstrued my words. I said I have a endometriosis. Which is an issue that women deal with and my stomach balloons up and I don’t wanna put on wrestling gear because it’s noticeable or I try and hide it,” Saraya wrote. “Jesus fucking Christ. Doesn’t hinder me from wrestling. Stfu.”
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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Wilde On with a h/t to WrestleZone for the transcription.
