WWE: Carmella Talks Walking Down Runway for Miami Swim Week While Pregnant
Carmella shared big news in May that she and her husband Corey Graves are having their first baby together. And while the 35-year-old WWE Superstar is taking time away from the ring, she did something recently that could be more intimidating than taking on the likes of Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. PopCulture.com spoke to Carmella (real name Leah Van Dale) about taking part in Miami Swim Week. Carmella walked down the runway in a bikini while nearly six months pregnant and admitted to having second thoughts about doing it.
"I've never walked in a fashion show or runway show or anything like that. Nevermind in a bikini, nevermind almost six months pregnant," Carmella told PopCulture. "So at first, I was super excited. I'm like, this is going to be great. It's going to be empowering. And then I started getting cold feet. I'm like, 'What did I get myself into? Why am I doing this? All of the girls were 10, 15 years younger than me. They all look like incredible, amazing bodies. What am I doing?'
"And then I was like, you know what? I'm here for a reason. I'm here to just show up, show out and show. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I have to stop feeling confident, stop showing off my body and all of that. I mean, obviously, I'm used to wearing a two-piece in the ring all the time, but this is a little bit different. But I was like, you know what? Let's just do it anyway. And I got my confidence back and went out there and did the damn thing."
Carmella shared the video of her walking down the runway on her Instagram account and fellow WWE Superstars such as Belair, Sonya Deville, Alexa Bliss (who is also pregnant) and former WWE Superstar Mandy Rose showed their support. For Carmella, it was an emotional moment for her because it was something she always want to do.
"It was so overwhelming," she explained. "I'm not going to lie. I think pregnancy hormones are a real thing. When I first walked out, my eyes started welling up. I was like, whoa, this is kind of crazy that I'm doing this right now with my son inside of me. It felt so overwhelming and I was like, oh my gosh, I can't be walking down the runway crying. I need to pull it together. So as soon as I walked out, I was like, okay, here we go. And just, it was incredible. I really have never felt sexier. I've never felt more confident. I've never felt better in my skin than I do right now."
Carmella seems to be enjoying the final stages of her pregnancy. But she decided to take part in Miami Swim Week during her pregnancy to show everyone that carrying a baby does not mean you have to put your entire life on pause. "I think a lot of times there's this misconception once you're pregnant you have to cover up your body and you stay at home and you just hibernate. And I was like, 'No, it's about embracing it,'" she said.
"And obviously every woman is different, how they handle pregnancy and how they feel during pregnancy. I mean, if this was three months ago, there's no way in hell I would've done it because I felt awful. I felt so awful in the beginning stages of my pregnancy. But I'm at a point now where I feel great and I feel confident and I feel like myself again. And I just want other women to know that life doesn't stop just because you've become a mom."