Priscilla Kelly, formerly known as Gigi Dolin in WWE, recently opened up about the severe depression she experienced during her time with the company, which she says was brought on by issues behind the scenes. Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Kelly discussed her run in the popular Toxic Attraction stable and how she felt she lost her identity, which contributed to her mental health struggles.
Depression In Toxic Attraction
“I did feel like with toxic attraction. I felt like, at a certain point, I lost myself as a character. I felt like I became what they wanted me to be,” Kelly said. “I definitely felt like I became more of that kind of, like sexy glam character, rather than the more gritty, grungy, a little bit unnerving, like character that I’ve always been. So sometimes, from time to time, there was, like, a disconnect with myself and the character I was portraying”.
“I went through a lot of stuff in WWE that kind of shot me into, like, this horrible depression, and that tail end of toxic. I was severely depressed. I put on a bunch of weight. I started, like, not caring about my ring work. I kind of, like, gave up because I was just so depressed because of things that were happening behind the scenes”.
Personal And Professional Struggles
Kelly noted that she was dealing with significant personal issues at the time, including her father being in prison and other family problems. She stated that she takes pride in her “depth as a person,” but that the pressure of WWE on top of her personal life was a lot to handle. She then revealed that issues with others backstage led her to a breaking point.
“There was just stuff going on behind the scenes. I don’t want to, I don’t want to bring it up, because, like, I know it’ll blow up and then, like, it’ll become a whole thing. But let’s just say some people were very, very not nice to me to the point that I was suicidal for a little bit, because I was really going through it”.
Who Knew About The Situation
When asked if people backstage knew what she was going through, Kelly said her close friends and fiancé knew, and that “the higher-ups knew kind of what was going on”.
“I don’t think they knew to the extent of how I was being made to feel. Because I, you know, you kind of got to separate personal stuff from business at a certain point. And that’s kind of what I did,” Kelly said. “It was really bad. I think that was, like, the the lowest I had felt in my entire career, from beginning in this business, and I’ve been through some real shit, like in my career, you know, I’m going on 12 years now, so, I mean, there’s been a lot of ups and downs, but I don’t think I had felt that low about myself in a very long time”.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can find her YouTube channel by searching for Denise Salcedo.
