CM Punk’s ex-girlfriend says he’s retired from the WWE

Retired?

Natalie Slater, CM Punk’s ex-girlfriend and close friend, has written an article for RedEyeChicago.com talking about the downside of his fame. Without mentioning him by name, Slater writes:

“My friend can’t go to Target. He can’t go to Great America, the grocery store or any mall anywhere. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him escape a restaurant without getting Instagrammed by diners at nearby tables. People mob him in the airport and tweet angrily when he doesn’t stop to sign autographs because he has a flight to catch.

My friend is famous, and it sucks.”

Slater, who has seen the craziness Punk has to endure in public, says he is retired from pro wrestling and can’t even leave his apartment without being stalked:

“Now, he’s the recently retired seven-time World Champion, and he’s one of the most isolated people I’ve ever known. A few weeks ago he found a young fan and his mom cramming Easter candy into the mail slot of his front door. Just before that, he walked out of his back door to throw out the trash only to be met by fans camped out in his alley for hours just to see him.

We get mad about how much of our information Facebook is selling to advertisers, and this guy has people stalking his Dumpster. But if he complains, people roll their eyes and say if they had his money, they wouldn’t complain about anything. The money? I’m sure he likes it just fine, but I often wonder how much of it he would trade to be able to go to a Cubs game without it ending up on TMZ.”

She worries that some crazy fan might try to stab him and also revealed how Punk feels about the situation:

“The nervous ninny in me lives with the constant fear that someone’s going to stab him. On the rare occasion I can get him out of the house I get to witness how overbearing and creepy people are toward him. “Bodyguard!” my husband and I nag. “That’s stupid,” he says. “What am I going to do, drag some guy around with me forever? Why can’t people just leave me alone?””