In a candid and moving essay published in The Players’ Tribune, renowned mixed martial artist Angela Lee opened up about her harrowing battle with suicidal thoughts and the profound tragedy of her sister Victoria’s suicide in 2022.
Angela Lee in her essay, revealed something that wasn’t expected. In 2017, Lee had a car crash that was, in fact, a suicide attempt. In the essay, Lee wrote, “My car crash in November 2017 was not an accident. It was a suicide attempt”.
This is me. This is my story.@PlayersTribune https://t.co/85Es6RKvlk
— Angela Lee Pucci (@angelaleemma) September 19, 2023
At just 20 years old, the then-rising star of the MMA world found herself fighting with overwhelming expectations. With all the expectations on her, she wasn’t feeling herself and just wanted to end this, which made her very tired and made her think she might not be able to reach her full potential.
Angela Lee wrote, “I had gotten to a place where making weight for that fight was the biggest thing in the world to me”. Angela told herself, “If you don’t get this done, you’ll lose everything”.
she added further, “I couldn’t stop thinking about the shame that would result if I wasn’t able to make the fight”. The intense fear of missing weight and judgment led her to contemplate taking her own life.
Angela Lee even kept her suicide attempt a secret from her husband
Angela Lee’s deepest fears culminated in a desperate act. She would try to injure herself at home. She would get into her car and drive to a nearby mountainside road, trying to intentionally crash. Then it happened: “I didn’t know where I was rolling — whether I’d gone over the cliff, or up in the air, or what. I just closed my eyes and let it happen,” she recalled.
Thankfully, Angela was rescued and taken to the hospital. While her physical wounds healed, the emotional scars remained, and she felt profoundly isolated in her experience. She revealed this first, to her husband, fellow MMA fighter Bruno Pucci.
“As much as Bruno loved me and wanted to help me, he just did not understand what I was going through. I felt fragile, shattered. I was broken, and I needed to heal and put back the pieces all by myself,” Angela Lee shared. Angela’s journey to recovery had been good. She found solace in nature and focused on her breathing. She discovered happiness in the simplest moments of her connection with the natural world.
Back on @X to introduce FIGHTSTORY, a nonprofit organization that I have founded in honor of my sister, Victoria.
Big launch happening next month… #StayTuned ❤️ pic.twitter.com/20pUxIR3B0
— Angela Lee Pucci (@angelaleemma) August 26, 2023
Angela Lee also started a non-profit organization in honor of her sister named ‘FightStory’. It helped her to create and tell her story to the world. It is also a platform for many others to share their stories and insights.
This just shows how important mental health is. Many stars and athletes have come forward and talked about it. Serena Williams also once shared her insights on how good mental health can help in the growth of an individual.
Why did Angela Lee start “FightStory”?
Victoria Lee unexpectedly passed away at the age of 18 in December 2022. Since then, Angela Lee has been persistent about people being open about their mental health to their families. So she created ‘FightStory’. According to Lee Fightstory, it will become a medium for carrying on Victoria’s memory and creating something positive in the face of sad and hurtful moments.
Lee may be retired now from the MMA world, but the wisdom and the words she shared will always be remembered. On September 29, at ONE Fight Night 14, Lee announced her retirement, relinquishing her ONE women’s Atomweight MMA World championship.
Angela Lee first won the Atomweight World Championship in 2016, defeating Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi by unanimous decision to become the world’s youngest MMA champion at the age of 19. In her six years, she defended her championship five times.
Since her retirement, not much news has been coming on whether she will return or not, but at the moment, she seems to enjoy the quality time she is able to spend with her family. Still, there is a possibility that the MMA star might return. But currently, she hasn’t shown any interest in returning to the octagon.