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WWE wrestlers are often some of the most popular celebrities on the planet. But unfortunately for some, like female superstar Rhea Ripley, that can often lead to invasions of privacy that pass far beyond what is socially acceptable.
In a recent interview on “INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet,” Ripley opened up about a couple of fan interactions that crossed the line, including one where a fan showed up uninvited at the home she shares with her husband and fellow wrestler Buddy Matthews.
“We looked at the Ring Camera, and there’s some chick at our door, and I didn’t think anything of it. And I was like, ‘Why does she keep ringing the doorbell and just stand there for eternity?” Ripley said. “And then, we had our Australian friends who live near us, and they came to pick up our mail, and they go, ‘This is for Rhea Ripley. I think it’s fan mail?’ I was like, ‘Oh, no, who the hell has my address?’ That’s just something that people shouldn’t be doing,”
Ripley added that the fan returned on several occasions and rang the doorbell while looking into the Ring camera they had installed.
“That’s kind of, like, crossing the line. We are normal people outside of work, and we like our privacy. We like to have our normal humanity,” she said. “But I went back and I watched the Ring doorbell, and this chick was, like, she just came out of the movie Smile. I’m sorry if you’re watching this, lady, but you were terrifying. She was scary; she rang the doorbell; she got real close to it and just [smiles creepily].”
Sadly, WWE fans have a long history of overstepping their bounds with wrestlers. Former WWE star Brock Lesnar was at the center of a similar story in recent years when I fan approached him at an airport. It’s not uncommon for diehard fans to get wind of WWE travel schedules and wait at airports for wrestlers to show up.
Several wrestlers have voiced their displeasure with this tactic and asked fans to stop. But it doesn’t appear those pleas have made things any better. Here’s hoping fans hear Ripley’s message and learn to give wrestlers some personal space.