How a Terrible Date Led Lilian Garcia to Her Fiancé

Lilian Garcia surprised the wrestling world when she announced her engagement last month after nearly four years of being single. But now, she’s opening up with all the details—including the identity of her fiancé—and it turns out he’s tied to WWE in a big way.

Speaking to The Takedown on SI, Garcia confirmed her fiancé is Patrick Ellrich, a former independent wrestler who once teamed up with none other than WWE Superstar Xavier Woods. But the way they met? It’s practically a rom-com—and it almost didn’t happen.

Garcia explained that it was former WWE star Candice Michelle who nudged her back into the dating scene after years of being single. Skeptical at first, Lilian took the plunge and downloaded dating apps like Hinge and Bumble.

“My friend Candace Michelle, from WWE, was encouraging me to go on a (dating) app and try it,” Garcia shared. “So I Googled Hinge and I Googled Bumble, and I liked the fact that Bumble had an incognito mode. I got on Bumble. I met this guy on there and so we decided to do a date. Immediately when I met him, I was like, ‘oh, no, this is not my guy.’”

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That date may have been a bust, but it brought her to Proper Hop Taphouse—a local bar that would become the unexpected setting for her real love story. As Lilian and her Bumble date walked in, she immediately noticed the bartender—Patrick Ellrich.

“We went inside this tap house and I see Patrick behind the bar, and I’m like, he’s more of my type,” she said. “So, we were just chit chatting, but I was like, concentrate, you’re on a date!”

Meanwhile, Ellrich—who hadn’t been keeping up with wrestling beyond watching his close friend Xavier Woods—recognized Garcia’s face but couldn’t quite place her name at first. It wasn’t until she stepped outside and mentioned her name that it clicked.

“I’m keeping up with Xavier Woods — my good friend. So this familiar face comes in. I’m trying to place her… then they go outside and talk. When she said Lilian, I was like, ‘oh cool.’”

He wasn’t trying to shoot his shot—at least, not yet. Patrick followed them outside and politely introduced himself, sharing his past as a wrestler and connection to Woods.

“I actually used to wrestle… and my tag team partner for a few years — he’s a good friend of mine — was Xavier Woods. I really just wanted to say hi. Just that. That’s it.”

The two ended up snapping a picture together and texting it to Xavier Woods that same night. It didn’t take long for Woods to respond—and that response sealed the deal.

“I show up that next Monday and I see Xavier at ringside. And he’s like, ‘you met my boy, Patrick! We’ve been friends forever. He was in my wedding. He’s such a great guy.’”

For Lilian Garcia, that endorsement from Xavier Woods wasn’t just casual—it felt like divine timing since she prayed to God to make it painless and that it was really cool how it turned out.

“I prayed for God to make this quick, make this painless, and I’d rather have somebody vetted… So, the fact that Xavier was like, ‘this guy is awesome,’ I’m like, this is really cool.”

The WWE announcer asked Xavier Woods to pass her number along to Patrick. He wasted no time and texted Lilian Garcia. Patrick was going to ask for her number that day but didn’t since she was already on a date.

The rest was history. They went out that very next Monday—and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

“He texted me immediately,” Garcia said. “He said I was gonna ask for your number that day, but you were on a date. It would have been a little weird.

Then he asked me out and we went out that following Monday. We’ve been together ever since.”

Now, Garcia and Ellrich are happily engaged, planning a wedding for 2026. No date has been set yet, but their love story is already legendary. From Candice Michelle’s nudge, to a failed Bumble date, to Xavier Woods playing unexpected matchmaker—it just goes to show love can find you when you least expect it.

Were you surprised by Lilian Garcia’s fiancé reveal? Do you think this is one of the most unexpected wrestling love stories ever? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!