Tearful WWE star felt like a ‘failure’ over heartbreaking divorce

WWE superstar Charlotte Flair fought back tears as she opened up about her divorce for the first time.

The SmackDown star, who is preparing to face WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton at WrestleMania 41 in a couple of weeks, split from fellow wrestler Andrade last year while she was recovering from a devastating injury.

Charlotte and Andrade got married in May 2022, while court records show she filed for divorce in June 2024, with the separation being finalised four months later.

During an appearance on Sheri, she was asked by host Sherri Shephard how she ‘handled’ her injury rehab while going through the heartbreak of divorce.

‘I didn’t,’ she admitted as she became emotional. ‘I felt like I was failing at my job. I felt like I was failing in my personal life and the embarrassment of being divorced again and being compared to my father.’

Charlotte – who was married twice before Andrade – then paused for a moment, visibly overwhelmed, and said she needed to ‘gather’ herself.

‘When I made the decision to file for divorce, the only thing I kept thinking was I just didn’t want anyone to know,’ she recalled.

She also noted how her comeback at the Royal Rumble and upcoming WrestleMania return hasn’t been a ‘redemption story’ on-screen even though it’s felt that way for her.

‘For me it’s a redemption story for me because everything I have feared or been scared of or embarrassed of, publicly, because everyone has an opinion, even though they don’t know the facts,’ she pointed out.

The 14-time world champion – whose real name is Ashley Fliehr – noted that she learned to ‘take a moment, take a breather’ and ‘start over’, while she kept the divorce a secret for months until after the Royal Rumble.

‘I was able to keep the divorce a secret until I came back, won the Royal Rumble, and then I was on Monday Night Raw, “Hearing from Charlotte Flair after her Rumble win and epic return,”‘ she said.

‘Boom. Everything hits. Everything that I had been scared of hit that day. The fight is over. I have nothing to fight. This is me, this is who I am, I’m standing in my worth.

‘People can have their opinions. To the audience who watches wrestling, they don’t know what Charlotte has been through to get to where she is, but I know. For Ashley, this is my biggest comeback yet.’

Meanwhile, Charlotte recently admitted 2024 was the ‘hardest year’ she’s had since her brother Reid died aged 25 in 2013.

‘It was the hardest year I’ve ever had since my brother passed away, and I wouldn’t change anything. It made me realise that I would choose this path again and again and again,’ she exclusively told Metro.

‘It gave me clarity. It gave me perspective. And to go through some of the things that I went through, I think, gives Charlotte a little more edge, a little more “this is why.” ‘

Charlotte’s brother Reid chased his own wrestling dream but missed out on a WWE developmental deal due to his personal struggles, and later died from an overdose.

Her sibling’s setbacks inspired her to follow in their dad Ric Flair’s footsteps in 2012, more so than growing up watching wrestling.

Despite the family name, it’s not always been easy, and 2024 was another difficult year for the Queen.

‘2024 tried to kick my ass. And I owned it. For me, since I’ve been on Raw and SmackDown and debuted, this will be my eighth WrestleMania, and I’ve only missed two,’ she said.

‘One was for having Covid, and now my knee injury, and for some reason, the knee injury feels a little more personal.’

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