Carmella Opens Up On Her Unexpected WWE Departure

Former WWE Women's Champion Carmella spent more than a decade with the company, but her run came to an abrupt end last month.

Carmella, real name Leah Van Dale, became a free agent when her WWE contract expired and was not renewed. She had last appeared on WWE television in March of 2023, but never returned to the ring after suffering from complications due to pregnancy.

She had previously teased she would be telling her side of the story, and she did so in a promotional clip for the "Barely Famous" podcast.

"What’s next for Leah? And for so long it’s like, 'oh, Carmella and Carmella.' It’s like, 'No. I can fully now be Leah and do what I wanna do,' and I don’t know what that is," she said in the opening portion of the clip.

She would go on to explain she was let go without warning or explanation, and was still searching for answers on that front.

"Is it because I’m a woman? Is it because I had a baby? And it just feels like a sh*tty way to end a 12-year career with the company. This is how it ended," Van Dale said.

"[Corey Graves] still has a job. We had a kid and he has a job, but I don’t. I mean, fast-forward until a couple of weeks ago and then I got a call saying that my contract was up in 10 days. Ghosted. Ghosted. Completely ghosted," she recalled. "What if this is the end of my career? What am I doing with my life? What do I have to offer? Why wasn’t I given an opportunity somewhere else? I feel like I’m being punished because I had a baby."

Van Dale would go on to call out the stigma around athletes becoming mothers.

MORE: Carmella Reportedly Hits Free Agency As WWE Contract Expires

"Why would you wanna be somewhere that doesn’t want you? I wish more for women in general, and moms, and especially athletes, I feel like you shouldn’t have to choose one," she said. "Why can’t you have both?"

The full interview drops on Friday

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