Daniel Cormier touched by Angela Lee’s capacity to battle mental health: “You are a beautiful soul”

It takes a lot of courage and heart for a human being to open up on some of the darkest moments of their lives. But Angela Lee braved the storm and uncovered the truth of her battle with mental health yesterday.

In an article she wrote for The Players’ Tribune, a website that publishes first-person stories from athletes, the longtime ONE atomweight world champion admitted that her car crash in November 2017 was a suicide attempt.

Apart from that, in an exclusive interview on ESPN alongside MMA world champion Daniel Cormier, the eldest of the Lee siblings shared what went on in her mind during that trying time.

Although everything seemed to have been going on at a near-perfect pace for the then-20-year-old, she cited there were plenty of internal battles that she held back from the public eye due to the perspective of her being an MMA world champion.

Cormier, in a voice full of emotions, responded by saying he could not picture the amount of bravery that ‘Unstoppable’ needed to overcome that struggle. In fact, his respect for Angela Lee only grew after the short exchange.

Daniel Cormier told ‘Unstoppable’ on ESPN:

“I was a fan of yours before Angela, as a fighter, but I'm an even bigger fan today of the human being that you've become through the storm. So congratulations on everything that you have done to get here."

He added:

"The journey and the fight that you will continue to have. I mean, you are a beautiful soul, Angela Lee. Thank you so much for joining me.”

Watch the interview here:

Apart from her attempted suicide, the 27-year-old also confirmed that her sister Victoria, who passed away last year at the age of 18, took her own life.

If you have suicidal thoughts or know someone who is experiencing them, help is available. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.