Female WWE legend opens up about getting heat for dating The Undertaker in real life: "That came with a lot of hate backstage"

A former WWE Women's Champion recently discussed the backstage reaction to her dating The Undertaker. She claimed she received significant heat, which eventually led to her retirement.

After participating in the 2004 Diva Search competition, Michelle McCool officially signed with the Stamford-based company. Over the next seven years, she competed on RAW and SmackDown, winning the Women's Championship and Divas Title. Meanwhile, she entered a real-life romantic relationship with WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker. The couple dated for a while before marrying in 2010, nearly a year before McCool left the promotion and retired from in-ring action.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, the former WWE Women's Champion disclosed that she had a hard time backstage because of her relationship with The Deadman. She claimed she received a lot of hate from some writers and superstars:

"That came with a lot of trouble. Not so much trouble but a lot of hate backstage. That led me to, you know, the last two years I was there I contemplated, like, 'Gosh, I don't wanna hate a business that I love so so much.' But I thought about leaving for two years prior to when I actually did. And a lot of that had to do with just the, you know, from writers to some talent to... Was it fair? No. Were there a lot of people dating? Yeah," she said.

The Florida native pointed out that after she started dating The Undertaker, some backstage just assumed anything she did was because of her relationship with the WWE legend:

"But because it was Mark, you know, I got everything from that point because, not because of the storylines we pitched every single week, not just for myself, I have to have an opponent for myself and other people. You know, I know I can look myself in the mirror and know my work ethic was there, know how hard I worked day in and day out. You know, when he started riding on a bus, I would wait until the arena cleared but I didn't want anybody to see me even get on his bus. You know, but it is what it is." [37:35 - 38:36]

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Michelle McCool claims some treated her differently in WWE when The Undertaker was around

In her chat with Chris Van Vliet, Michelle McCool explained that she did not feel the backstage heat she got was personal. She pointed out that she believed it was just because she was dating arguably the top guy in the WWE locker room. She also expressed that she never wanted or needed help from her husband to fight her battles.

However, the former WWE Women's Champion recalled having people treat her one way when she was alone and then changing their attitude later that same night when her husband was around, revealing that she called them out on it on a few occasions:

"There were writers that literally threw up their papers. 'If she wasn't the Undertaker's girlfriend…' I will turn my cheek a million times, but also stand up for myself. And there are a few times I can remember, like a handful, where I'd already talked to somebody earlier in the day and they had treated me one way. And then, of course, they see me and Mark together, and I have to say, Guess what? I didn't change from 10 minutes ago. So treat me the same way you treated me when he wasn't standing here," she said. [H/T: chrisvanvliet.com]

McCool also opened up about how she and The Undertaker started dating, claiming he was the one who chased her. She also addressed her and The Deadman's daughter's desire to pursue a wrestling career.

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