Three-time WWE Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey has opened up on her tragic experiences while battling bulimia as a teenager on ‘The Diary Of A CEO’ podcast last week.
A renowned figure in the world of martial arts as well as professional wrestling, Rousey revealed that she struggled with depression after being diagnosed with bulimia, an eating disorder. She added that people did not treat her nicely because of her uncharacteristically masculine physique during her formative years as she battled through the stigma of being a muscular woman at the time. “I had to be a weight on a deadline very often, and it’s not really a weight that I could healthily stay at," said Rousey on ‘The Diary Of A CEO’ podcast, as per Wrestling INC.
“I would have to cut weight to get there and it started to give me a really unhealthy relationship with food. I would hoard food while I was cutting weight, like candy bars and stuff, like that, and then after I made weight, I would gorge myself on it. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t have any resources to help me out and so it just spiralled into a disorder," Rousey said.
“I felt so guilty and I had to make weight that weekend. There’s no way I would be able to make it and so I made myself throw up. I thought it was a one-time thing but the next time I ate too much, I felt like it was the only thing I could do," the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist added.
Rousey was even subjected to harmful teasing by her peers in school for possessing a muscular shape. She was called “Miss Man" by her classmates, as mentioned in her memoir ‘Our Fight’. The 37-year-old added that those experiences helped ignite a spark within her, motivating her to change the perception and become a role model for young women with masculine bodies.
“It wasn’t cool for little girls to be muscular back then," Rousey said. “Before I dropped out at 16, I was really muscular and people would grab at my arms and make fun of me all the time to the point that I would just wear a zip-up hoodie no matter how hot it was," the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion added.
Rousey was among the best performers during her time with WWE. She retired from professional wrestling in October 2023, thus quitting WWE, too. She returned to the ring on October 26, 2023, at the Lucha VaVoom event.
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