AEW Women’s World Champion Willow Nightingale recently said that she has spent roughly the past year battling depression while keeping up her trademark smiley, upbeat persona in AEW.
The wrestler shared the personal struggle in candid comments tied to the AEW Redemption event, framing her rise in the company against the private toll of the wrestling schedule.
Nightingale opened up in an interview with AEW’s Countdown show, reflecting on the weight of expectations that come with being a public, always-positive figure.
I think there are a lot of expectations that come with being Willow Nightingale and being like the smiley happy person. It’s been hard. I think I’ve been depressed for about a year, and I’ve just had to find a way to strap a smile on, put my twinkly boots on, and find a way to keep going,” Nightingale said.
She described the sacrifices of a constant travel schedule, including missing family birthdays and weddings, and how she frames those choices as part of the job rather than a burden she is uniquely owed relief from.
I’m missing my family’s birthday party. I’m missing weddings. But we all do it. What makes me more deserving than anybody else? It’s not even a matter about deserving. It’s just, I’m in this position. The opportunities are there. I’m taking them, and I’m excelling, and at the end of the day, that’s what makes you a champion,” Nightingale said.
Nightingale Points To AEW’s Mental Health Support
She became the new AEW Women’s World Champion after dethroning Thekla at AEW Redemption. Nightingale later expanded on the topic at the post-show media scrum, discussing her self-diagnosis and crediting AEW’s approach to mental health.
She said the promotion has a therapist within its team who travels with the roster, and she highlighted how much that support has meant to her.
Nightingale has been open about her long-term commitment to the promotion, having previously confirmed a new multi-year AEW contract. Her willingness to speak plainly about the mental strain behind that commitment adds a different layer to how fans see her on-screen presence.
