Carmella Now Saying She Isn't Retired From Pro Wrestling

After saying she was retired from professional wrestling, Carmella is now claiming she isn't retired from professional wrestling.

While discussing What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hotter with author Laura Clery on her own Hot Mom Sh!t podcast, Carmella (AKA Leah Van Dale) referred to herself as retired.

"I related a little bit to, like, in your book and you're saying like, 'Our dates are half romance, half business planning.' We did that. Luckily I'm retired now, so it's definitely a little bit different. So, yeah, we met at work. I was a professional wrestler. I can't wrestle anymore. I'm a mom, I have kids," Carmella stated.

Just hours after saying she was retired on her podcast, Carmella wondered where all the talk of her being retired was coming from and claimed she had been retired since 2023 when she became pregnant with her first child.

"Lol idk where this is all coming from. I've been retired since I got pregnant with Dimitri. Doesn’t mean I can’t come out of retirement though…." she tweeted.

Carmella, however, then decided, in fact, she wasn't retired, writing 90 minutes later: "You guys…. My foot is healed. And I’m in the best shape of my life….. definitely not retired."

Carmella's pro wrestling career now finds itself as the new Schrödinger's cat, it seems.

Carmella has not wrestled since March 2023 when she stepped away from the industry to give birth to her and husband Corey Graves' first child. Carmella suffered drop foot after the pregnancy but she remained under contract with WWE until February 2025 when her deal expired. Leah Van Dale welcomed her and Graves' second child in October 2025.