Battles With Sex Abuse, Abandonment & Addiction: Saraya's 'Hell in Boots' Pulls No Punches [Exclusive]

The rise to fame for Saraya Bevis is an extraordinary tale. On the surface it appears to be a rather common one, but once you begin to peel back the layers you discover its uniqueness clouded in darkness.

It's a true rags to riches journey that saw young performer from Norwich, England grow up to help lead an evolution of women's wrestling by daring not to conform to the normalcies of the industry at the time.

Anyone who has watched her 2019 biopic Fighting with My Family may think they know what Saraya has been through in her life, but to paraphrase the late great Paul Harvey, you're about to learn the rest of the story. And readers beware, it's intense.

'Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives' is available for pre-order now and will be on-sale wherever books are sold Tuesday, March 25.

Saraya held nothing back when detailing some very difficult times in her life, including the traumatizing sexual abuse both she and her brother incurred at a very young age. The culprit, a man who was tasked with watching over them as their parents worked late nights.

It was an experience that both sister and brother buried away, deep inside, for decades.

“I never spoke about it. I never did,” Saraya told The Takedown on SI. "I wanted to forget about it until my brother, Zak, he had a full breakdown one day and he called me and he was like, “Raya, please... we need to talk about this, about what happened. I wanna feel like I'm not crazy.’”

Just a couple of years ago, after Saraya had turned 30 years-old, Zak and herself finally had a long discussion about what had happened to them and unearthed the affect it had on their lives.

It's a shockingly awful highlight of what far too many children are put through each year all over the globe. Upwards of 12 percent of American youth alone have suffered at least one sexual assault. Sometimes, as was in Saraya's case, it happens without their parents ever getting wind of it until it's far too late.

Saraya Bevis | 'Hell in Boots' - Simon & Schuster

“They were just so supportive and they tried really hard to protect me all my life, but sometimes there's not much you can do.”

Home life growing up in Norwich was anything but typical. An outcast from an early age, Saraya spent many of her days setting up wrestling rings, working her parent's shows, participating in the occasional family bar fight and interacting with a cast of unusual characters. Whether they be an old gypsy woman who predicted her celebrity status from a young age or a mentally disturbed family member whose antics forced her own Mother to disappear for a six-month stretch.

Both Saraya and Zak missed out on an entire year of High School when their Mom vanished without a trace. They were left with no choice but to fend for themselves, keep the family business afloat and care for their father as he drank himself into a crippling state of depression.

“There is a lot for people to freaking read in there,” Saraya said. “I feel like maybe there's too much I'm talking about, but people need to know what, not just women, but men go through, kids go through, what people go through.”

As Hell in Boots advances beyond Saraya's formative years, she details her own battles with drug and alcohol addiction. It wasn't long after her first year on the road with WWE's main roster came to a close that her rollercoaster of a life started to come off the tracks.

A rockstar lifestyle, often encouraged by the producers of Total Divas during her time on the show, coupled with debilitating neck issues nearly ended her career. They nearly ended her life, to be blunt. And just when the bottom didn't appear to be any rockier for Saraya, her world was turned even further upside down when nude photos and explicit videos from her teenage years were leaked online in the spring of 2017.

The night, however, is always darkest before the dawn. With the help of her family, friends and co-workers, Saraya was able to pull herself out of the muck and find her way back to being the woman that so many young wrestling fans had grown to idolize.

“I want people to be inspired by me," Saraya said. "Everyone has their version of my life, you know? And I know I'm quite a controversial figure and [I've been] doing my best to be better for the past six years. I wanted to really tell my side of the story with everything, but also help people. Because people don't realize what's in this book.”

Considering the gravity of all the different subject matter that lays within, the topic of toxic fandom may go overlooked, but it's an issue that gets a much needed spotlight in Hell in Boots.

The rise in popularity of social media over the years has given women like Saraya a whole new type of abuse to deal with on a daily basis. Emboldened by the shield of avatars and usernames, faceless keyboard warriors will unleash some of the most vile and crude messages out into the digital landscape.

“My requested DM’s is the dark web. I do not wanna go in there. I know there will be unsolicited dick pics… Men do not give a s***. Social media is like a mask to them, so they can do and say whatever they want and get away with it. Which is the crazy part.”

Some people don't even bother with the direct messaging route. The public comment section on even the most innocent of posts is the equivalent of a box of chocolates loaded with landmines. You truly never know what you'll find and it's frightening.

2 MORE DAYS!! I’m so nervous you guys. I hope you love it! 🥹click to preorder yours!https://t.co/YzsbAK1pG4 pic.twitter.com/NocnkesRve
— SARAYA (@Saraya) March 24, 2025

“I've had people say they're gonna rape me, they're gonna murder me and all this crazy s***. [Women] get it all the time. Even when I tag my friends that aren't so much in the public eye, they end up getting hounded in their DM’s.”

As disturbing as social media can be, it's not a real place. Instagram or X accounts can be blocked and reported. Comments sections can be turned off, but certain people have found ways to use the internet to take their obsessions to the next level.

While abusers hide their identity online, Saraya has been forced to use an alias in her every day life.

“I've had so many fans come to my house. I had a guy that had no shoes on and a ripped shirt that was trying to get in my house. I've had people send stuff to me. People have camped outside my house before. So now I have to put everything under a different name. There's no way I could have my name on my house.”

It's one thing for people to find their way into the venue of a WWE or AEW show. The talent are advertised. Fans know they're supposed to be there, and Hell in Boots details a number of disturbing situations that unfolded behind the scenes ahead of a Raw or SmackDown.

Shouldn’t have to say this…
Do not ever send fan mail to my house. That is by mail, or SELF DELIVERED!
That is 100% not ok.
— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) February 24, 2025

Certain questions have to be asked, though. How are some people able to track down flight information? Why do they buy a ticket to a flight, go through airport security and hunt down a wrestler at their gate just to get them to sign something? What if they had motives other than an autograph?

When you live the celebrity lifestyle, it just comes with the territory that you’ll be signing away certain aspects of your life to the public. But there is a line and toxic fandom is a problem that has long gotten out of hand.

“I have wonderful fans that are great and freaking treat me with respect, you know? And I'm very grateful for my fan base 'cause they're all great. But you do get the odd weirdo that thinks that they know you so well that they can come into your house or be outside your hotel room or like hunt me down in a hotel room. It is crazy how far some of these fans will go.”

Fear not reader, Hell in Boots is not all doom and gloom. It's a very well written, and uplifting story of overcoming some of the most difficult obstacles that life can throw your way. Her detailed comeback five years removed from a career threatening neck injury is enough to make even the most hardened souls well up.

The actions of certain public figures and the parts they had to play in Saraya's story will give you a deeper sense of respect and adulation than you had for them prior to cracking open the book (special shout out to Drew McIntyre).

And finally, there's the woman herself. Saraya Bevis is an inspiration and Hell in Boots is a must read that shows it is possible to live your best life possible, even if you have to crawl through a river of s*** to get to the greener grass on the other side.