Elayna Black learned pretty damn quickly that dating someone while working for WWE meant her personal life wasn’t going to stay personal. The former Cora Jade says she was barely out of her teens when she realized that everything she posted online could become wrestling news — and suddenly, strangers had opinions about every move she made.
In a documentary published on TNA Wrestling’s YouTube channel, Black opened up about the reality check she got after signing with WWE at just 19 years old. She was still trying to figure out who she was, how to carry herself around the company, and whether people were judging her every move. Throw a public relationship into that situation, and things got even more uncomfortable.
Black admitted she wasn’t nearly as confident as people might have assumed from watching her on NXT. Behind the character, she was constantly worried about saying the wrong thing, doing something that might upset somebody, or being perceived negatively.
“I got signed when I was 19. So, I think for a while, honestly, like my first few years there, I was very worried about being perceived a certain way or like how people were going to view me or doing something the wrong way or saying something the wrong way and kind of like walking on eggshells because I wasn’t fully confident in myself and my work.”
Then came her first public relationship during her WWE career, and that’s when Black says she finally understood just how little privacy came with being a recognizable wrestler. She wasn’t doing anything particularly unusual. She was dating, having fun, and sharing parts of her life on social media like plenty of other people her age. The difference was that everything she posted suddenly became something wrestling fans and news websites wanted to dissect.
“I feel like the first time I kind of realized that all eyes were on me at all times was when I was kind of in my first public relationship when I first got into WWE.”
“I was just living my life, having fun, you know, showing my life, and then, you know, slowly you start to realize, oh s** like everyone’s eyes are on you, everyone has an opinion, everyone wants to say something, every everything you post is a dirt sheet, like that first year in WWE was the kind of the first time I realized like damn, people have people have a lot to say like about everything.”*
Black knows exactly what that kind of attention looks like. Her relationship with WWE star Bron Breakker became public knowledge, and Ringside News covered the speculation surrounding their relationship in January 2024 after the two unfollowed each other and removed their photos together from social media.
Her dating life continued attracting attention afterward. In April 2025, fans began speculating about her ex, Harlem Lewis, and fellow WWE NXT star Thea Hail after photos surfaced on Instagram. What might have been ordinary relationship drama for someone outside the wrestling business had become another subject for fans to investigate publicly.
Black didn’t name either relationship while making these particular documentary comments, but her point was clear. She went from being a teenager chasing her WWE dream to realizing that complete strangers were following her dating life, analyzing her social media posts, and forming opinions about things that had nothing to do with her performances. And the pressure wasn’t limited to who she was dating. Black also discussed how being in the public eye made her increasingly insecure about her appearance, something she’d previously addressed when discussing the criticism she received during her WWE career.
“Very quickly, I started to become very, very insecure about my body. Yeah, that was definitely the first time that I was like, I never thought anything was wrong with my body, and then I get put into this position, and all these eyes in this different, you know, spotlight, and it’s a mind f** to be honest.”*
That kind of attention eventually became something Black had to learn to live with, whether she liked it or not. She was trying to make a name for herself in WWE while also dealing with a level of public interest in her personal life that most people her age never experience.
Black is now 25 and competing in TNA Wrestling, but her comments make it clear that becoming famous so young came with a price. She signed with WWE to become a professional wrestler, not to have every relationship, Instagram post, and personal decision picked apart by strangers. Unfortunately for her, she found out pretty quickly that being on television meant people weren’t just watching what happened inside the ring.
What do you think about Elayna Black saying her first public relationship in WWE made her realize that every move she made could become wrestling news? Do you think fans take too much interest in wrestlers’ private relationships, or is that simply part of being a public figure? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
