Willow Nightingale opens up about mental health struggles following her AEW women’s title victory
During the AEW Redemption Countdown Show, Willow Nightingale revealed that she has been battling depression for the past year. Speaking further at the Redemption post-show press conference, the new AEW women’s champion opened up about her mental health struggles and discussed how she has been coping with them. Here was what she had to say…
“I will say that it wasn’t a diagnosis. It was very much me just kind of being in a place. People have thoughts about self-diagnosis or whatever. I have people that I speak to. We have mental health help here.
One great thing about AEW is that we do have a therapist who travels with us and is there whenever anybody needs him.
I went in to record that stuff for Countdown that day, and I was going through it. I was having a really hard time being Willow and thinking about wrestling.
If we really think about it, the past year has been so crazy in a world sense. Who isn’t struggling right now?
They were like, ‘What are your thoughts on this?’ And I was like, ‘Man, really? I don’t know. Why do I deserve to be champion? I don’t know. This is how I feel. This is what I’ve been going through. This is All Elite Wrestling. Everybody is the best. We all deserve it. But I guess, at the end of the day, this is how I’ve been feeling.’
I’ve still been showing up. When the opportunities are there, it doesn’t matter how I feel—I feel like I’ve been delivering. If the opportunities are there and I’m winning and showing up, then that shows you that I can do that when I need to.
But I do also think, speaking of mental health, it’s very important, especially being the happy, smiley girl, to be honest and say that’s unrealistic to have 24/7. Nobody is that way all the time.
I think it is good to strive for a little positivity, to allow ourselves some grace when things are tough, and say, ‘We all mess up. We all don’t feel great. But what is something that can bring me even an iota of joy?’
Wrestling is that for me so much. Being able to do it, watch it, be around it, absorb it, live it—that really is Willow.”