Sonya Deville Doesn’t Want To Be Defined By Her Sexuality

Sonya Deville discusses her sexuality. 

While Sonya Deville is the first openly lesbian female in WWE, she wants to be known for more than just her sexuality. 

“It’s definitely one piece of Sonya’s puzzle. I don’t want it to define me, and I don’t want it to take away from my career and what I’m capable inside of the ring. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete. I’m a performer, I’m a former mixed martial artist. There’s so many layers to Sonya, but certainly her sexuality has become a part of her layers, because I firmly believe in love and acceptance for all, but that’s not only in the LGBTQ community. That’s gender, that’s race, that’s anti-bullying. And those are all things that I’m super passionate about. So it’s not just love and acceptance because I’m gay. That just happens to be one facet of what I stand for, because it is close and personal to me. But I also, I represent equality for all and in every other way,” Deville told Chuck Carroll of CBS Boston. 

Though she portrays a heel on television, Deville still keeps the LGBT flag with her in the ring. While it can be tough to find the right balance, Deville believes she’s keeping true to her character while also being true to herself.

“Sonya, at the end of the day is a fighter, right? She likes to kick ass. She likes to get in there and take names and she sometimes does take unorthodox measures to get there. So if that’s what you consider a bad guy, then yeah, Sonya’s bad. But she also is someone who represents equality, and that’s something that’s very close to my heart and something that, whether I’m a good guy or a bad guy, I’m always going to represent, because the really cool thing about WWE is there’s always a larger message,” she said. “I work a lot with Girl Up and GLAAD, and I had the opportunity to be in the New York City pride parade this year, WorldPride, on the GLAAD float. There’s so much more to our job than just what you see inside of the ring.”

Deville’s sexuality and relationship has been on full display on this season of “Total Divas.” Deville previously revealed her girlfriend was uncomfortable at first being on the show. You can view her full comments by clicking here.