Bianca Belair Opens Up About Mental Health

Helwani asked Belair about her experience in college. The RAW Women's Champion went to three different colleges, and Helwani asked about the motivation behind the changes. Belair attributed it to her mental health.

“My freshman year, I just struggled so much mentally. I was struggling with an eating disorder secretly in high school, so when I got to college I told myself ‘okay I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m gonna be healthy.’ I just had a very unhealthy relationship with food," Belair said.

Belair mentioned that she had a track coach at the University of South Carolina who was huge on body image. And it got to the point where the RAW Women's Champion would wear sweatpants in 100-degree weather to avoid comments about her thighs.

"It just wasn't a good place for me," she said.

Belair revealed that, after transferring to Texas A&M, she hit rock bottom mentally. Things were so bleak, that she ended up having to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

However, she credited her coach at Texas A&M, Vince Anderson, for helping pull her from her lowest point.

"He [Anderson] was the one, once I got out, who said ‘you can’t come back.’ He made me go see a psychiatrist. He was like ‘you have to get yourself together mentally because that’s what is more important," Belair said.

Belair credited Anderson with helping her feel more comfortable being open and honest with how she was feeling. And it was instrumental in helping her on her journey of recovery.

"He was the first person really that put my mental health above anything else. My parents, I was able to finally open up to my parents and be vulnerable to them and that was the one big major step to my recovery with everything," Belair said.

She told Helwani that while she could have stayed at Texas A&M, she felt it was time to move on, which is why she went to the University of Tennessee.

"I decided that I needed to go home and rely on my family and really just start over,” Belair said.

Helwani asked Belair what the turning point for Belair was in her recovery. The RAW Women's Champion said that being vulnerable and realizing that was okay was huge.

"You can't get help until you're vulnerable, and you allow people in," Belair said. "When you're hiding it, you're not allowing anyone to help you. You're just pushing people away."

Belair said she's "on the other side of it," but she still has her moments. Now, however, she's able to go to those around her such as her husband and parents to get the help that she needs.