WWE icon Paige slams Spice Girl Emma Bunton over ‘heartbreaking’ childhood snub
WWE icon Paige called out Spice Girl Emma Bunton over a “heartbreaking” childhood snub before revealing her father saved her life during a harrowing mental health battle
Wrestling icon Paige has hit out at Spice Girls legend Emma Bunton(Image: AEW)
Wrestling icon Paige has hit out at Spice Girls legend Emma Bunton after a crushing childhood snub left her heartbroken for decades. The former WWE Divas Champion, whose real name is Saraya-Jade Bevis, didn’t hold back when recounting a bitter encounter involving Baby Spice and her wrestling royalty parents.
Speaking on the ‘What’s Your Story?’ podcast with WWE heavyweight Stephanie McMahon, the Norfolk-born scrapper revealed that the singer once flat-out refused to sign an autograph for her when she was little.
The drama unfolded back in the 90s on the set of The Big Breakfast, where Paige’s parents, Ricky Knight and Sweet Saraya, were appearing alongside the pop megastar.
Paige said: “She signed autographs for everyone’s kids, all the staff’s kids. My mom and dad…they go up and they’re like, ‘Can you sign this for my daughter?’ And she was like, ‘No’ and it broke my heart.”
The grappling queen, 33, admitted the rejection stayed with her for a long time, even taking a cheeky swipe at Emma by claiming Sporty Spice (Mel C) “would never do that.”
Determined to get justice for her younger self, the wrestling star previously took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out the 2-Become-1 singer in front of millions.
In a post from April 2023, Paige said: “People will ALWAYS remember the way you made them feel. I won’t ever make someone feel the way I felt when mum told me she said no.”
However, it seems there’s no longer Wannabe beef between the two icons. A horrified Emma was quick to issue a grovelling apology, insisting the snub was totally out of character.
Responding at the time, Emma posted: “This breaks my heart, I would never intentionally want to upset someone. I don’t know what happened this day but I have always signed and taken time out to meet people. I’m so very sorry this was your memory.”
The apology worked magic on the hard-hitting wrestler, who told the podcast that “everyone has a bad moment” and she no longer judges the pop star.
Meanwhile, Paige also opened up on the harrowing moment she contemplated suicide following the release of private sex tapes in 2017
In a candid chat, she revealed she “ran and hid in a bush” in San Antonio as online trolls humiliated her over the leaked footage. She said: “I went through that stage where I was completely alone. I was ready to do it. I was done.”
The star says she was saved by a last-minute phone call to her dad, who calmed her down. Paige said: “He goes to me, ‘It’s alright princess – everyone has a sex life, yours just happens to be on the internet. You could be famous like Kim Kardashian'”
The emotional star added: “He saved my life that day. He absolutely saved my life.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .
