AJ Lee discusses mental health, CM Punk’s support and WWE’s evolved approach
AJ Lee opened up about living with bipolar disorder, her support system and changes WWE has made regarding mental health since her first run with the company.
Speaking on State Of Mind with Maurice Benard, Lee discussed managing her bipolar disorder during difficult periods, and credited her husband, CM Punk for understanding her needs on her low days.
“I named it like my dark days. I’ll wake up and I know it’s a low cycle and I’ll tell my husband and I warn him and he’s very open to it and knows the language of it now where he’s just like ‘Okay what do you need like how do we make this day better?’ Like a stasis that is peace and that is so that can be so rare. So much you’re sort of riding that wave and trying to not go up too much or down.”
“Right. Yeah. And that can make every symptom worse sometimes. So, like if it’s, I’m really stressed or if there’s like a lot of negativity or a lot of eyeballs on me or judgment and then if you get physically hurt, like constant pain can really trigger my depressive cycles as well. So, it’s such a tricky thing to balance. And I did kind of have to dip my toe in and be like ‘Okay, I’m going to have the schedule that works for me where I can still make sure I’m sleeping right. I still have the time to take my medication and go to therapy and have my routine because that’s what keeps me alive and perform’. And so that was like a balancing act.”
She also explained that stress, negativity, public scrutiny and physical injuries can worsen her symptoms, making it crucial to maintain a rigid routine. Lee cited how WWE’s approach to mental health for performers has evolved over the years, and was a key point in her conversation with Nick Khan and Triple H before her return.
“I’ve had suggested surgeries, but I haven’t done them for my neck. And I’ve strained stuff and torn some minor tears here and there, but a lot of the culture when I was younger was you just keep going because it’s going to keep going without you. So if you’re injured, you just kind of fake it and say you’re fine and keep going injured.”
“It’s very much not that now, which I was really happy to see. It’s very much like ‘Let’s have a conversation about how you’re feeling and you can get time off and you can spend more time with your family.’ And I will say to their credit, my biggest concern coming back was my mental health. And Nick Khan and Paul Levesque, they’re like the bosses that kind of brought me in. They were so open about ‘We will protect our mental health and if we don’t we’re not doing our job right, like that’s going to be our number one priority.’”
“And it was never like that 10 years ago. I felt like I had to hide that part of me 10 years ago. So for my bosses to support me in that way I have to give them all the credit for that.”
Lee returned to WWE in September 2025 after marking a decade’s absence from the ring. Over the next seven months, she won the Intercontinental Title and primarily feuded with Becky Lynch until WrestleMania.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.