Eva Marie is opening up about what really went wrong in her marriage to Jonathan Coyle, and according to the former WWE Superstar, their relationship had reached a point where they were more like business partners than husband and wife.
The former Total Divas star filed for divorce in December 2024 after 10 years of marriage, bringing an end to a relationship that WWE fans watched unfold on reality television. As Ringside News previously covered, the couple had separated before the divorce filing, with irreconcilable differences cited in the paperwork.
During a recent interview with Page Six, Eva explained that there wasn’t one explosive incident that destroyed the marriage. Instead, she began questioning her future after turning 40 and realizing that the relationship wasn’t giving either of them what they deserved.
She recalled how spending more time in California while working on her treatment and recovery centers helped set things in motion. However, the real turning point came when she took a serious look at what her marriage had become.
“I think honestly, I think it was a combination of many things, but I was living in Texas and I came back out to where the studio that I’m sitting in is, where we do the Hopeaholics podcast, and as soon as I aligned myself with Chad Carson and like the Infinity Group here to start the process of opening up my own treatment facility and then recovery centers. I think that’s really what set the ball in motion because I was then really back out in California a lot more.”
Eva then explained how turning 40 changed her perspective. She compared her own marriage to her parents’ relationship, which has lasted more than five decades, and admitted that what she had with Jonathan simply wasn’t the same.
“But when I turned 40, I had like kind of this aha moment of you only have one life and you know, with my marriage, there is nothing like I we were like business partners. So like I look at my parents and my parents have been married for 53 years and to me it like they have true blue like ride or die love till death do you part type of a marriage and I really felt like Jonathan and I were doing a disservice to one another because we just had a very transactional business relationship.”
That wasn’t the end of her explanation either. Eva made it clear that she and Jonathan weren’t constantly fighting or dealing with some major scandal. They actually got along, but she eventually realized that being comfortable with someone wasn’t enough reason to stay married.
“We got along, we were totally, you know, best of buddies, but that’s not really what a marriage is, nor should it be, nor is that what I wanted it to be. So I was like, you know what? I’m 40 years old like I always I want to live my life to the fullest and I want to be as honest and as happiest as I possibly can be and I want that for him as well.”
The interviewer pointed out that leaving a relationship can be especially difficult when things aren’t necessarily terrible. Eva agreed, explaining that there wasn’t some dramatic moment where either person had done something that made the marriage impossible to continue.
“For sure and I think that as individuals, you know, a lot of times because there wasn’t this like massive turning point of like you know, this turmoil of oh my goodness, either he should leave me or I should leave him type situation, which I thank God for cuz I’m sure that is like really traumatic all as well for individuals.”
Eva went on to explain that staying in a familiar situation can sometimes prevent people from finding what actually makes them happy.
“But I think a lot of us in our life, we stay in situations, whether it’s business or even you know, your personal relationships because it is comfortable, because it is easy. And and having to like make a change or all of a sudden do something completely different is scary because you have to make all of these different types of moves, but I think that if we live in such a a comfortable state, then you’re never really fulfilled either.”
The divorce itself didn’t become public until late 2024, and Eva has largely kept the details of the split private. She previously addressed why she kept her divorce out of the spotlight, despite having spent years sharing her personal life with WWE audiences.
For fans who watched their relationship on Total Divas, Eva’s explanation puts a very different perspective on how things ended. There wasn’t some huge blowup that she pointed to as the reason for the split. By her own account, the marriage had simply turned into something neither person should have to settle for.
Do you think Eva Marie made the right decision by ending a marriage that had become more of a business partnership, or can that kind of relationship still work? Let us know what you think 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.
