Charlotte Flair may walk into arenas draped in gold and confidence, but behind the Queen persona is a sister still living with heartbreak.
During a recent interview with Doug Bopst, Charlotte opened up about the 2013 death of her brother, Reid Flair — and she didn’t hold anything back. Reid passed away before he ever got the chance to see her wrestle for the first time. Charlotte revealed just how close that moment was.
“You know, you always look back and you go, ‘Oh, I could have done more.’ And for my brother, unfortunately, he passed away before he got to see me wrestle for the very first time. My parents brought him home from Japan. He died that night before he was supposed to leave to see me wrestle.”
Reid had dreams of carving out his own path in the wrestling world, working independents and traveling to Japan in an effort to make his own name. Charlotte admitted her original motivation for stepping into the business wasn’t even about her.
“When I got into wrestling, it was to help him get on track. But ultimately, as I was trying to help and save him, he ultimately helped and saved me and gave me this beautiful life and this beautiful dream.”
More than a decade later, the pain hasn’t disappeared. She made it clear grief doesn’t just get packed away. Asked directly whether she has fully healed, Charlotte gave an answer that felt painfully real.
“When he died in 2013, I still don’t think like, you know, you put it in a drawer and you close it.”
“I don’t know if I have, because some days I can just get so emotional about it and others I don’t, or I just try not to think about it.”
She described the hardest part of losing someone young — they stay the same age forever.
“It’s like he’s forever Peter Pan, you know? He’s forever that age. And as life goes on and life changes or this career that I’ve built, he stays the same and I get older.”
What keeps her pushing forward is a message Reid once sent her while he was in Japan. Even though she can’t access the original message anymore, she remembers it word for word.
“He was like, ‘Winky, when days get really hard and I can’t go on anymore or I don’t want to continue, I just think of how hard you work and your work ethic and I want to be just like you.’”
That message became fuel during her knee injury and long rehab process. Charlotte left no doubt about what her success means.
“Even though I don’t have it and I can’t read it, I think about that message all the time and just not letting him down. So when I was injured, I just kept replaying that in my head over and over and over. My career is dedicated to him.
For someone who has headlined WrestleMania and built a Hall of Fame résumé, the real motivation isn’t titles or spotlight — it’s honoring her brother’s dream.
What do you think about Charlotte dedicating her career to Reid? Do you believe grief ever truly fades, or does it stay with you forever? Sound off below and share your thoughts.
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