Saraya has never been shy about opening up about her past, and the former WWE star is continuing that trend in her new autobiography.
Saraya, widely known to wrestling fans as Paige, is currently away from the ring but has made it clear she intends to return to professional wrestling later this year. During her break from competition, she has focused on outside projects, including the release of her memoir, Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives.
In the book, the former WWE Divas Champion shares several personal stories from her teenage years growing up in the United Kingdom. One particularly disturbing incident happened during a visit to a friend’s house when she was still very young.
Saraya explained that she initially believed she had finally found a group of friends to hang out with. The environment at the house seemed chaotic, but she didn’t fully understand the situation at the time.
“I only wish he’d been with me the day I went to a friend’s house. His family was really f****-up, but I didn’t know it at the time. I came over, and his mum and mum’s boyfriend gave us weed and liquor. We were all just hanging out, drinking and partying. I thought it was pretty cool. I was finally starting to have friends.”*
The situation quickly turned frightening when she went to use the bathroom and the friend’s mother followed her inside. According to Saraya, the woman’s boyfriend soon entered as well and locked the door behind them.
“When I got up to use the bathroom, though, his mum followed me in. What the f*ck? A minute later, her boyfriend came in, too, and he locked the door. He started trying to kiss me. The bathroom was tiny and felt claustrophobic. I got scared. They were in their thirties, and I was barely a teenager. They were trying to get me into a threesome with them. I was terrified.”
Saraya said the moment could have become much worse if her friend had not intervened after realizing something was wrong. She explained that he began banging on the bathroom door, forcing the adults to open it.
“Thank God for my friend. He knew something was up and started banging on the bathroom door. The boyfriend opened it a crack to tell him to get lost, but he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of there.”
Looking back, Saraya believes her friend may have understood exactly what was happening because he had likely experienced something similar before.
“I realized later that he knew he needed to act, likely from hard-won experience. I hate to think about it, but he had probably been stuck in the same situation before. I never went back there again—I had learned my lesson—and never told anyone until now, writing this.”
The story is one of several deeply personal moments Saraya shares in the book as she reflects on the difficult experiences she faced growing up before eventually finding success in professional wrestling. Her journey has included major highs and lows both inside and outside the ring, but the former champion continues to speak openly about the events that shaped her life.
What do you think about Saraya sharing these personal stories from her past in her autobiography? Let us know your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.