An Interview with Brie Bella, WWE Female Wrestler
This interview first appeared on Your Zen Mama
Tell us a little bit about your journey and how you've come to arrive here.
I was born in San Diego, CA and raised in Scottsdale, AZ. For a small portion of my life I lived in Brawley, CA. That’s where I truly felt my life started. My family there owns a produce company called Majesty. I was surrounded by cousins, farms, animals and I was devastated to leave. Brawley will always feel like home.
My mom wanted a life of her own, away from the family produce business and that’s why we went to Arizona. From then on I was raised by a very strong woman. I learned all my business and strength from my mom. She gave me the courage to try everything and to live everyday with no regrets. Having a mother like that is why I am where I’m at today. I truly believe we become our moms and I’m lucky I have such an empowering one.
Who's in your family? Ages? Names?
My husband Bryan, 34
My daughter Birdie, just about 9 months
Our fur babies, Winston 2 and Josie 5
How did you choose your daughter's name?
My husband comes from a family of all B’s….Buddy, Betty, Billie and Bryan. When he married me he had only one request…. can our children have names that start with B. It was hard for me to find a girl name that I connected with. I wanted a name that felt like Bryan and I but kept his family tradition. All of a sudden Birdie came to us, nature inspired and something different. Her middle name is Joe after my grandfather. He was my world!!! He had a beautiful soul and the best laugh. I wanted apart of him to be with Birdie. Bryan’s Mom being Betty Anne and his sister Billie Sue I thought Birdie Joe was perfect!! Plus I love calling her my little Bird.
Location?
We just moved to San Diego from Phoenix, AZ. I was sad to leave Phoenix but I have a lot of family in San Diego. We film so much in San Diego I thought it was best for the family to move there. We also escape to Washington State for the summers.
Occupation?
WWE Female Wrestler, Reality Star, Co Owner of an aspirational apparel line, Birdiebee, Wine maker, Belle Radici and Mom
How did you and your sister get into wrestling?
At 18 I was working as a Hooters Girl while going to community college. At the restaurant we would show the WWE pay per views once a month and I was blown away by what the women were doing. My sister and I always loved being active. We played competitive soccer throughout our childhood and we loved entertaining too. We’d always dress up as the Spice Girls and put on performances for my Mom’s friends. As I watched the pay per views I saw the entertainment mixed with the athletism. I knew it was my calling! They held a big audition called Diva Search and I begged my sister to come with me. Honestly it was a lot like GLOW! We showed up and did’t make it into the competition but we convinced them to give us a chance at wrestling. They flew us to Georgia, we got into the ring, fell in love and the rest is history.
Were you fans of wrestling growing up?
I wasn’t. TV wasn’t big in my house. I grew up on an urban farm. We had horses, cows, a pig and goats. It was our duty to feed, clean and play with the animals. I loved being outside and building forts and creating magical stories with my animals. My brother got into wresting when he was in middle school, he loved The Rock. He would always try to put us in moves and holds but now it’s awesome that I’m the one doing it to him.
What is the most challenging thing about being a wrestler?
The travel can be very hard. It’s the worst part of the job. We are on the road over 250 days a year. You start realizing that it’s hard to keep up with friends and family when you are gone that much. I knew when I wanted to be a Mom that I’d have to hang up my boots.
What is your favorite part about wrestling?
I love being in that ring. It’s so much fun to tell a story and have the crowd react to it. There’s so much creativity in wrestling. It’s fun to have a blank canvas and just create. I really miss being in front of the crowd and letting them in. In WWE the fans are what makes the stories come alive, they have so much energy.
What is it the best and worst thing about working with your sister?
The best thing about it is that you always have family around. She’s always honest with me, motivating and we keep each other grounded. We get to share moments together that we’ll remember for a lifetime. The worst part is that when we get sick of each other we can’t not talk for a week lol we are in constant communication!
How has being a twin shaped your adulthood and life choices?
My whole life I’ve been compared. As a twin people are constantly looking for differences in features, personality to body shape. As a twin you always sharing the attention. It was never just about me or about my sister growing up. At times as a kid I thought it’s wasn’t fair being a twin. When I got older I realized that as a twin you aren’t competitive with women because you’ve always been compared to one. I never minded sharing the spotlight because I was use to that. I realized that I was a women rooting on other women because I did that with my twin. It really shaped me to be an empowering woman. To truly support, connect and uplift all females.
What most surprised you about becoming a mother?
How tiring it is. I thought traveling the world 5 days a week was tiring but motherhood has out beaten it. It’s a different type of tired. An emotional and physical one mixed together. It’s really rocked my world but I’m adjusting. Accepting that I’ll never sleep again.
Is there anything you wish you had known before becoming a parent?
Learning that it’s ok to ask for help and to truly accept it takes a village to raise a kid. I think at times strong women believe they can do it all, I thought I could, but you realize you can’t. It took me almost having a breakdown to ask for help. I won’t let myself get there again. I now ask and don’t feel bad about it.
What do you do to unwind?
Netflix, wine and yoga!
Favorite book? Music?
The Alchemist by Paulo Cuelo and I’m obsessed with The Lumineers
What helps you maintain balance?
Making time for myself. I know I have to do workouts, massages and meeting up with girlfriends to stay happy and feel like me. Allowing myself to do things I enjoyed before motherhood let’s me stay true to who I am and not get lost on who I’ve become. Just because you become a mom doesn’t mean you have to change your life completely.
How has your relationship changed with your husband after having a baby? How do you stay connected?
It didn’t feel like it changed but more that it’s been put on pause. We’ve grown closer after experiencing birth and becoming parents to Birdie. We feel like a real family now and have a new love and respect for each other. We did realize that our spiritual growth with each other grew but our intimacy faded. Our NYE resolution was to give more time to each other and more date nights. Also to not have conversations about Birdie’s diapers but about each other. We realized we need to get out of the house to really connect and not get distracted from one another.
What advice would you give to an expecting mother?
To roll with it! Your birth will not go as planned and don’t stress because in the end your body and baby know what they are doing. The number one thing is for the baby to come in this world safe, I attempted a natural birth and ended in an emergency C section, I didn’t get upset because my baby is here safely. Motherhood seems scary because there’s so much unknown but I’ve realized we are made to do this and we can truly handle anything.
Can you tell us more about birdiebee?
Birdiebee is a pay it forward brand that my sister and I started. We wanted a brand that gave back to women and girls in need. We wanted the apparel to have aspirational sayings that made women feel connected and empowered. We wanted to use premium fabrics to create a healthier product. I love it because I’ll pose in the under garments and I tell them to not photoshop my tummy because as a new mom I’m proud of my baby weight and stretch marks. They are my warrior wounds! They show that I’ve survived my greatest match, birth!
What does this next phase of life hold for you?
Concentrating on raising a girl to become a strong women. Watching the movement for women going on now I couldn’t be more proud to be a mother to a daughter. I want to continue to spread my love, support and strength for women globally. There’s no better feeling then seeing women unite as one.
contributed by Kacy Byxbee, editor, Your Zen Mama
