Carmella Reveals The Truth Behind Her Shocking WWE Departure

Carmella, known outside the ring as Leah Van Dale, recently sat down with Kail Lowry for an exclusive tell-all interview, sharing insights into her career, her sudden exit from WWE, and the personal challenges she's faced, including complications from pregnancy.

The wrestling world was left stunned on February 21st when news broke that Carmella's contract with WWE had expired, marking the end of her more than a decade-long career with the company.

Fans were particularly surprised as Carmella had not returned to television following her maternity leave in 2023.

During her candid interview on "Barely Famous," Carmella discussed her unique experience of being under contract with WWE while pregnant.

"A handful of women have gotten pregnant while under contract, and basically, they freeze your contract while you’re pregnant," she explained. "They pay you, which is so incredible. They don’t have to pay you while you’re pregnant, and they paid me, and they’ve paid every woman who has been pregnant before under contract. I’m so grateful for that."

Carmella said she did offer to work while pregnant, telling the team, "Please, I know I can’t wrestle, but let me go on the road. Let me do interviews. I’ll do kick-off shows. I’ll do panels. Let me contribute," because she didn’t want them to think she was "cool sitting at home, getting paid, and not working."

However, they allegedly told her to stay home.

She later shared that she had offered to continue appearing on camera despite her pregnancy, demonstrating her dedication to the brand and her craft.

"Usually, what’s happened in the past with women who have been pregnant under contract is they have their baby, they recover, and every postpartum journey is so different," the former WWE star told Lowry. "I don’t want to speak on anyone else’s recovery. Mine was obviously a lot more difficult because of the nerve damage with my foot. I let them know the day I had my son, 'This is what happened, this is what’s going on.'"

When reflecting on how she learned about her contract expiration, Carmella revealed that her WWE contract had been paused following the birth of her child. However, it was reinstated just seven weeks later without her knowledge. She shared that, without any prior warning, she received a call informing her that her contract was nearing its expiration and would not be renewed.

“When I had the nerve damage, [my doctor] was like, ‘It’ll just resolve in like four to six weeks and you’ll be fine.’ Now, months and months are going by, and it’s not getting better," Carmella said. "I’m getting all these tests, seeing specialists, and I’ve been in touch with WWE the entire way, telling them what was going on and everything like that. Fast forward until a few weeks ag,o and I got a call saying my contract was up in 10 days."

Carmella explained that when a wrestler is injured, their contract is paused. This pause applies not only to in-ring injuries but also to situations like pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Essentially, any time away from the ring leads to the contract being put on hold for a specific period.

"Then, when you go back to work, however long it was paused for, they tack on to the end of the contract," she said on the podcast. "That’s the impression that I was under. Come to find out, the way it worked out, my contract was paused for seven weeks after I had my son and then reinstated. I didn’t know. Nobody told me that I only had seven weeks off after my son and that they were going to reinstate it. I basically had a year left on my contract when I got pregnant."

When the contract was reinstated on January 1, 2024, it appears that date was chosen arbitrarily, according to Carmella. The contract then ran from January through the following February, at which point it expired, bringing her time with WWE to an end.

Carmella also mentioned that, given her big personality in WWE, she had even suggested taking on a managerial role for a tag team as a way to contribute while she was unable to wrestle. Although she was cleared to travel but not compete in the ring, she experienced an unexpected radio silence from the company.

“Is it because I’m a woman? Is it because I had a baby? It is because I had a baby, point blank," she wondered. "They weren’t giving me any answers on the phone either. ‘Why? What’s happening?’ They were like, ‘This is just what we’re going with right now.’ I don’t even think they said that, it was just, ‘I’ll put you in touch with legal.’ Legal? I just want to know why this is happening. This doesn’t feel right.”

Leah Van Dale’s entire appearance on "Barely Famous" is out now.