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While Lilian Garcia eventually left the company in 2016, she had left WWE once before that. In 2009, Lilian Garcia left WWE as she wanted to pursue her career elsewhere. At that point, she had been with the company for 10 years. However, she did not have a plan in place when she first made her departure.
"No, I left and that was the biggest thing I learned is, you got to have a plan. I talked to an agent and I was signed, and recently signed, and I thought about Broadway... I got married literally the week right after I left. I left in September. I believe it was the 21st, and then, on the 28th, I was getting married. So, it was from one Monday to another."
Lilian Garcia would come back to the company in 2011 and became an announcer once again. During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet on his Chris Van Vliet show (h/t Wrestling Inc), Lilian Garcia talked about what led to her return to the company and who helped her.
Lilian Garcia reveals who helped her come back to WWE
Lilian Garcia revealed that Kevin Dunn offered for her to come back to WWE initially, but at that time she was still not ready.
"So, they had SummerSlam out [in Los Angeles], and I came back in 2011. So now it's SummerSlam 2011, they invite me to the SummerSlam party, which was on the roof of one of the hotels, so it was beautiful. I got to see everybody, and it was so great. Then, Kevin Dunn was there and asked, 'Are you ready to come back yet?' And I-- at this point, I had found out.
However, when Garcia realized that she missed the stars in WWE, she decided that she would return, and Kevin Dunn helped her to do so.
"So, we got married in 2009 and found out in 2010 that we couldn't have kids. So now, that plan went out the door, and so when I saw them, I missed them. They were like my family. At that point, I was like, 'No, I love you, thank you.' I didn't even have any intention, and then, until November, he left the door open. And in November of that year, I was getting sad. I was sad not to be part of it. I felt like I had more still to offer, and so I reached out to him, and I was like, 'Hey, so are you serious about this?' And he's like, 'Your timing couldn't be more perfect.' He's like, 'We have Tribute to the Troops coming up and we want you to sing.' The next thing you knew, I was back."
Garcia ended up staying with WWE for another 5 years, before she would eventually leave in 2016.
