WWE News: AJ Lee reveals heartwarming story of CM Punk, talks about battling bipolar disorder

What’s the story?

In an interview on SiriusXM’s Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show, AJ Lee narrated a heartwarming story of CM Punk supporting her through bipolar disorder.

Additionally, Lee also opened up on a myriad of other topics including how she addresses her husband, what ‘CM’ means, bipolar disorder, depression, pro-wrestling and goals in life.

In case you didn’t know…

AJ Lee, whose real name is April Mendez Brooks, performed for the WWE from 2009-15.

The 30-year-old is a former Divas Champion who parted ways with WWE shortly after her husband, former WWE Champion CM Punk (real name—Phil Brooks), left the promotion.

The heart of the matter

AJ Lee revealed that she prefers calling her husband by his real name ergo Phil; she also asserted that the true meaning of the abbreviation ‘CM’ in his ring-name was supposed to be a mystery to fans, which was why Punk often provided different versions of the definition in interviews.

Furthermore, Lee elucidated that bipolar disorder and depression runs in her family, adding that she was diagnosed with the former at the age of 19, pointing out that her brother, a soldier, suffers from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

The former Diva's Champion said that Punk played a huge role in helping her battle the mental illness, and had in fact flown over a good friend of hers to cheer her up for her 30th birthday, during a time she was going through a rough bipolar cycle.

Besides, Lee explained that she had only revealed the diagnosis of her illness to a few close friends in the WWE, including Punk, adding that Punk knew about her mental disorder well before they started dating but helped throughout nonetheless.

On that note, AJ stated that a key factor allowing her to live normally is the perfect balance of therapy and treatment. Lee spoke about how she accomplished all her goals in pro-wrestling, stating that she attained the objectives in merely 3 years rather than what she thought would take a decade. Lee jested:

“And then, I did them all in three years, a lot of them within the first year, and you're kind of left in this place where I think people like struggling in a weird way, people are a little masochistic, and they want something to be angry about or fighting for.”

“When you're content, that's a strange feeling and so you have to say, 'what is the next goal? What is the next big thing that I need to accomplish while I'm still healthy, and young, and still have opportunities?'"