CM Punk and AJ Lee's Relationship: All About the WWE Stars' Decade-Long Marriage (and Why He Would ‘Love’ to See Her Return to Wrestling)

Wrestling stars CM Punk and AJ Lee's love story began on-screen.

The couple are both renowned WWE wrestlers — Punk, whose real name is Phillip Jack Brooks, held the championship title for over a year. For her part, Lee, whose birth name is April Jeanette “AJ” Mendez, has won three WWE Divas Championships and also once held the title for over 400 days.

Punk and Lee met on-screen around 2012 when a WWE storyline brought them together. Quickly afterward, they fell in love and married two years later. Since their wedding, Punk has continued to wrestle, while Lee has retired from the sport, wrote a memoir Crazy Is My Superpower and founded a production company, Scrappy Heart Productions.

Since Lee is retired, Punk is often asked if she’ll return to wrestling, where the couple first found love. While he tends to steer clear of speaking on behalf of his wife, in a 2024 interview, Punk said, “As a fan of hers, [I] would love to see it.”

From their first meeting over a decade ago to their lives now, here’s everything to know about CM Punk and AJ Lee’s relationship.

They were both WWE wrestlers

While Lee has officially retired from her athletic career and Punk previously took a break from working with the WWE, wrestling is what initially brought the couple together.

Originally from Union City, N.J., Lee began her wrestling career in the state’s local circuit. Later, in 2009, she signed with WWE, where she rose to prominence in 2012 and remained until her retirement in 2015.

Lee performed a “crazy” character in her wrestling career, which has remained a part of her personal brand.

Punk is from Lockport, Ill. and came up in wrestling through the independent circuit there, beginning in 1997. By 2002, he signed with Ring of Honor and was hired by WWE three years later.

In 2014, Punk’s contract with WWE was terminated, but he re-joined in November 2023.

Punk and Lee met around 2012

While Lee had been wrestling for years, she rose to prominence performing romance storylines in the WWE. Her first on-screen romance angle was with Daniel Bryan, with whom Punk had a feud; later, she performed opposite Punk.

Bryan and Punk’s feud worked in the WWE’s favor, as it served as the perfect platform for a love triangle with Lee. Beyond wrestling, it set the stage for Lee and Punk’s real-life romance.

They made their first public appearance together in 2013

With rumors of their real-life relationship swirling, Punk and Lee made their first public appearance together at a Chicago Cubs game in 2013.

Punk and Lee have also been spotted at many more sporting events in the years since.

Punk and Lee bonded over shared family struggles with mental health

Punk and Lee share personal and familial struggles with mental health.

Part of Punk’s straight-edge lifestyle and persona is derived from his challenging childhood. His mother struggled with bipolar disorder, which led to her and her son’s estrangement. His father struggled with alcoholism, which Punk directly cites as his reason for abstaining from the substance.

In her book, Lee wrote that her family also dealt with mental illness, drug addiction and poverty throughout her upbringing. Lee’s mother, who later became a home health aide, had bipolar disorder, which Lee was also diagnosed with around age 20.

Both Punk and Lee have been outspoken about how their childhoods inspired their wrestling personas and encouraged them to be vocal about mental health.

They married in 2014

After dating for a couple of years, Punk and Lee married in an intimate, private ceremony on June 13, 2014.

Although Punk and Lee shared a sweet wedding day, it didn’t come without an unexpected bump along the way. On the same day of the athletic couple’s nuptials, the WWE sent Punk a termination letter, ending his relationship with the organization.

"The day of my wedding I got a FedEx in the mail. It was my termination papers. I was fired," Punk told Colt Cabana in November 2014, per Sporting News. "I was fired, on my wedding day." But, he added, "[I] didn't let it affect my day"

Despite the WWE’s decision to fire Punk, he told Cabana that his termination came at a time when he was hoping to concentrate more on his life beyond the ring.

“I put that s--- on the backburner because I don’t care about the money and I’m more focused on my new life, my wife," Punk explained, describing the period in his life when he was preparing to marry Lee.

Read the original article on People