Sonya Deville is WWE's only openly gay female Superstar in the company, and broke ground when she came out to the world on Total Divas. Unfortunately, WWE has failed to bring that diversity on to shows like RAW and SmackDown, and chances are you wouldn't even know Deville is gay from watching those.
Regardless, Deville reflected on her decision to come out during a recent interview with Maria Menounos. "That was the craziest thing ever...it was such a weird time in my life. I’m 21 years old the time, I’m on a reality television show that’s being broadcast live internationally, and the first question I’m asked in the interview portion of the show is, 'Are you in a relationship?' That’s such an easy question."
"But for me, it was this loaded question with such a complex back end. I wasn’t openly gay yet but I did have a girlfriend at the time. I remember thinking, 'OK, do I lie, and my girlfriend will kill me because I”m now saying I”m single on a Reality TV show, or do I tell the truth, and now the entire world knows I’m gay? And out her, because she wasn’t even out to her parents. Nobody.' I just told the truth, and was like, 'Yeah, I have a girlfriend.' And I kind of, like, smiled. And Triple H was like, did you just come out on National Television? And I was like, 'Yeah, I think did.'"
As for the reaction she received online, Deville added: "At first it was super daunting. Um, I remember coming out and being like, OK, what does this mean. How do I feel, and I remember not being able to assess my emotions at first. I’m happy, because I feel free. There was a weight lifted off my shoulder, but on the same token, I remember, um, social media back then being a little rough...a lot of people were jumping to judgements and conclusions, and I was very young and easily influenced at the time."
"It was definitely hard at first, but looking back at the kind of last five years of my life and realizing that not only am I more comfortable with myself than I ever been, because of almost being forced to live my truth, but watching my younger fans be inspired by it, it means the world to me. Now, obviously I’m in a place where I’m proud of my sexuality, and it doesn’t. I want to be the voice for people who don’t have a voice."
You can hear more from Deville in the player below: