Born again wrestler Taryn Terrell may 'walk away' from ring now she's found God

close

Video

Ex-WWE diva finding balance being sexy and spiritual

In the Zone: Taryn Terrell speaks out about opening her heart to Jesus

Taryn Terrell is known to her wrestling fans as a sexy, tough, sometimes provocative character in the ring. But she says she's much more than meets the eye. The former WWE Diva and Playboy model recently posted a YouTube video about her journey to find God and lead a Christian life.

FOX411: Why did you decide to share your journey to find God publicly?

Taryn Terrell: You know I found that when I was looking for God I didn’t have the resources, and it was hard for me to connect with more mature Christians, so I thought that if somebody could watch my testimony and see me as an infant Christian, you know, I’m just a baby and I’m still learning, maybe they could connect and they could realize exactly how to find God for themselves.

FOX411: Have you had any reactions from your fellow wrestlers or colleagues?

Terrell: You know, it’s been really cool because a couple wrestlers have texted me or reached out by phone and said, you know, they’re Christians as well and they would love to share their journey with me, and talk. And it’s just a really great way not only that I can connect with other wrestlers who have been in the entertainment field which is a very tempting world but you know that helps me mature as a Christian, and get better connections with my peers which gives me a better connection with God.

FOX411: Well, to have that public discourse about your faith and your spirituality, but you touched upon something about the entertainment world being a very tempting world at that, you said in your video you lived a quote unquote “sinful” life.  In what ways did you mean that?

Terrell: You know life without a relationship without God is very self-serving, and I was a very self-centered person, and you know, there’s just lots of ways that I was sinful and I didn’t repent, and I didn’t ask for God’s forgiveness, and like I said I led a very self-serving life. Now that I’ve accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and I’m very focused on, you know, living a life where I’m obviously still a sinner. You know the only person who was not a sinner was Jesus, so I will be a sinner forever but now I know I can ask for forgiveness and I do have a way into Heaven, and get the eternal life.

FOX411: You also said that life on the road as a WWE Diva was partly responsible for getting you off your path but you continue to wrestle with TNA with that there’s revealing clothes and sexy storylines. So, how do you walk that line of being a performer and a Christian?

Terrell: That is something I’m actually struggling with now. You know it certainly wasn’t the fault of WWE or the fault of any other entertainment company that I’ve worked for. It wasn’t the fault of Playboy  These were all my decisions and these were, you know, my life choices that I made that were, you know, certainly not of a Christian lifestyle. Like you said, the sexiness and, you know, me essentially being a temptation to men and, you know, that’s sort of the thing I learned that I really want to be a role model. I truly do. I want to be able to help other people get saved just as people helped me to be saved so, you know, that is something I’m struggling with now and realizing that, you know, even in the way that I dress it is important to be Christian. It is important to be more modest and I want to use the ability that I have as performing to connect people. You know, I love to perform. I love to entertain. God gave me those skills to do so and I’ve learned that He put me on this Earth to be able to use that and to reach people, and to bring people near God.

FOX411: Do you think there’s a double standard that if you’re a godly woman you have to cover up and wear turtlenecks and deemed not a temptation just because you have a feminine curve to your body?

Terrell: You know, I don’t think that it’s something for me personally. I dressed in a way that I wanted attention, so for me, I’m obviously not speaking for anyone else, for me, I no longer want to dress in a way to gain the attention of men or of anybody, you know. I want people to be able to focus on me as a person and be able to listen to what I say rather than focus on, you know, being provocative or sexy.

FOX411: Is that conflicting though with your career as a TNA wrestler? Do you think at some point you might have to walk away from that job in order to stay on the path that you’re choosing right now?

Terrell: Absolutely. I think that I have played, and recently, I have played an even more sexy character than I was used to playing, and it’s something that I prayed on and I know that’s not who I want to portray anymore. I know that’s not who I am and it’s not who I want to portray, and how can I connect with people, and sort of live that double standard. And yes, if I cannot find a way to use God and be godly in the things that I do then yes, it is time to walk away.