Out WWE Champion Daria Berenato shocked fans when she announced she had fought her last match in the ring. Berenato AKA Sonya Deville, made history in 2015 when she became the first openly queer female wrestler in the WWE. Now, ten years later, she’s ready to start her next chapter.
Berenato joined GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos to talk about her legacy as a wrestler and her impact on the LGBTQ community, as well as what’s next for her and her wife Toni.
“I feel surprisingly good,” she tells Ramos. “I kind of went straight to the drawing board and said, ‘Ok, what’s next?'”
She talks about how she was signed to the organization when she was only 21-years-old, “It was kind of like I grew up there, all I knew in my adult life was WWE. I’m grateful for it, it was fun.” She adds that the way she’s been looking at the situation is that, “Nothing happens to you, it happens for you. And so, it’s time for it to be the next chapter.”
While at peace with the situation, Berenato admits she felt a bit surprised by the WWE’s decision not to renew her contract.
“I can’t be upset because of my mindset… Anytime something comes in or out of my life, I’m like, ‘Oh, that was meant to be.'” She adds, “I can’t argue with fate.”
She reflects on the impact being a queer public figure has had on her own life, “I look back on coming out on Tough Enough… it aired on TV and it was just this kind of organic moment where I was asked if I was in a relationship.” She continues, “It was that moment where I had to either lie on TV or tell the truth.”
“When the outpouring of support came from the fans when they saw me in the show, it was like, ‘Oh, they accept me, and I don’t even fully accept myself. That’s when I started to process it all and step up and just accept myself.” She hopes that the experience impacted her fans “in a positive way.”
“I may have been the first, but I’m not going to be the last. I think that there is a place for our community to thrive in wrestling, just like there is in any other place.”
She goes on to talk about what’s next for her. “There are a lot of things in the works,” she teases. She shares that she’s been taking acting classes since she was a kid and her dreams of starring in a film are finally coming true. She spoke about her first acting role in a self-produced film when she was 19. “Art literally imitated life, or the other way around,” she explains that the film helped her come to terms with her sexuality and introduced her to her first girlfriend.
She then shares that she and her wife Toni Berenato are launching a podcast called Unwrapped! “We have such funny conversations and good banter, I’m like ‘why don’t we turn it into a show?'” She describes Unwrapped as “a little peak into a 21st century, modern family lifestyle. We’re going to be talking all the things, celebrity guests, hearing everyone’s stories, but also having a lot of fun.”
She teases that as she enters this new chapter, she’s “anxious” but curious about the idea of appearing on a reality series like The Real Housewives of New Jersey or The Traitors, saying “You never know.”
She offers some advice for LGBTQ people who may be struggling during these frightening times, “You have to love you before anybody else can.” She goes on to say, “Spend time with yourself, take care of yourself, love yourself… Don’t ask for permission, just do you.”
As someone who’s “used to being the underdog,” she reminds fans, “you don’t need to be anyone’s favorite except your own.”
Keep up with Daria and Toni’s upcoming podcast Unwrapped here!