Sonya Deville never planned to come out on national televisionit just happened.
In a recent interview on Talking With Natasha, Deville looked back on her Tough Enough days and how one unexpected question from Triple H led to her becoming WWEs first openly gay female superstar.
It was like a big accident. Its a really funny story. Its a happy accident, Deville said, recalling the Tough Enough tryout where she was put on the spot. Triple H asked, Are you in a relationship? Are you single? Its a pretty standard reality TV question, but for me, it was a loaded question because I had a girlfriendand I wasnt out at the time.
Caught off guard, Deville blurted out, I have a girlfriend, but shes not my wife yet. Thats when Triple H started laughing and hit her with the realization: Did you just come out on national television?
Panic set in. Deville scrambled to call her then-girlfriend, knowing the secret was officially outnot just to the world, but to her girlfriends family, too. She wasnt even out to her parents, Deville admitted. Her mom was onto us, but we were trying to deny it to her. So I had to call her and be like, Im so sorry.
Looking back, Deville now sees the moment as fate. It was meant to be that way. That was 10 years ago. So thats my coming out.
Life has a funny way of forcing the truth out when you least expect it, and for Sonya Deville, her Tough Enough moment became a defining chapter in her journey. What started as a nerve-wracking slip-up turned into a milestone that helped her embrace her true self on the biggest stage possible. Now, a decade later, she owns every bit of that momentand WWE fans wouldnt have it any other way.
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