Priscilla Kelly Opens Up About Dealing With Depression In NXT, What Caused It

Priscilla Kelly recently opened up about dealing with depression during her time in WWE NXT. Kelly worked in NXT as Gigi Dolin, and had a run as part of Toxic Attraction. Kelly revealed in her interview with Denise Salcedo that she was dealing with depression during her first few years in the company. She noted that it got to where she had suicidal ideation during that period.

When asked about the depression, Kelly talked about the pressure of WWE along with stress in her family life. She noted that someone was “very not nice” to her in NXT. She declined to say who, not wanting it to “blow up.” Kelly added that she started to pull out of it when she started working WWE Main Event matches. She also noted that Chelsea Green helped her out, praising the WWE star for helping her in their match. You can see the highlights below:

On Dealing With Depression In NXT:

“Coming out of Toxic Attraction, I just wanted to get back to my roots. I wanted to get back to who I was. And it was hard because I came out of Toxic, I went through a lot of stuff in WWE that kind of shot me into this horrible depression. And that tail-end of Toxic, I was severely depressed. I put on a bunch of weight, I started not caring about my ring work. I kind of like gave up because I was just so depressed, because of things that were happening behind the scenes.

“And then I kind of went through this like down period of like, ‘I hate my life, I’m collecting a paycheck. And I’m just hoping someday I can get back to like who I am and the performer that I am.’ And as soon as I started to feel like I was myself again, I tore my meniscus. So yeah, but it worked out, I mean, in some way.”

On What Caused the Depression:

“It was a lot of things. Because I have a lot going on in my personal life on top of everything else. Like, both of my parents like have a lot of issues. And my dad’s been in in jail, in prison, for the last four years. He actually just got out this past weekend. So you know, I’m dealing with my little brother that is going through hell and he’s on his own. And my mom’s got all kinds of issues, my dad’s locked up. So I have like a lot of personal stuff going on, and I’ve talked about it in previous interviews, my childhood wasn’t always the prettiest thing growing up. And ‘m not shy about it. I kind of take pride in the fact that my childhood wasn’t perfect, because it made me who I am. I have depth to me as a person because I’ve been through hell and back.

On The Pressure In WWE Adding To That:

“So it was that on top of just, the pressure of WWE is a lot. And especially those first two years. The just was a lot of pressure, those first two years. Because I was new, and I had came from the indies. There was a lot that they were trying to like beat out of me.

“And yeah, there was definitely there was just stuff going on behind the scenes. I don’t want to bring it up, I know it’ll blow up and then it’ll become a whole thing. But let’s just say some people were very, very, very not nice to me to the point that I was suicidal for for a little bit, because I was I was really going through it.”

On Getting Out Of That Period And Chelsea Green Helping Her:

“But once I got out of that, and I would say like the beginning of 2023, I started doing Main Event on main roster and stuff. And that’s when I really felt like, ‘Okay, this is who I am. This is like the kind of wrestling I like to do, this is who I like to be. And I had a match with Chelsea Green… And Chelsea, who I’ve known forever, was like — because I’m kind of like a little reserved at this point. Because in WWE, sometimes you’re very restricted on what they’ll let you do. A lot of times, either girls wouldn’t want to take like my Germans and my moves the way I like to do them. Or producers wouldn’t let me do my moves and my matches the way I wanted to do them.

“So when I went went up and I had to match Chelsea, Chelsea was like, “No. I know how you wrestle. You’re going to be Priscilla Kelly today. And we’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna have a good match. We’re gonna wrestle the way you wrestle.’ And she she just she gave me one of my funnest matches in my time in WWE, because it felt like I could relax. It felt like I could be myself, I could wrestle my style. And she’s just so amazing to work with and just, you know, she makes you look like a million bucks when you’re out there. She’s fun, and that’s really the breath of fresh air that I needed. And I felt like after that, that’s when I started to feel like, ‘Okay, I know who I am again, I’m feeling great.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.

If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please call 988 in the US and 0800 689 5652 in the UK.