PRO WRESTLING: WWE diva Eva Marie, husband, parents enjoy WrestleMania Week together

California girl Eva Marie enjoyed every minute of WrestleMania 31 Week.

The WWE diva was joined by her parents, Barry and Josie Nelson, and husband, Jonathan Coyle, for the festivities, which included Axxess.

“There is nothing better than to have the support of your family,” Marie said. “Then, to actually be in the Bay Area for WrestleMania, it just doesn’t get any sweeter.”

Fans of the “Total Divas” television show know how important family is to the vivacious redhead. The reality show on E! not only made Marie a star but her family members as well. People even take selfies with them at events.

“It’s a little overwhelming for me because it’s all about Eva,” her father, Barry, said. “It’s not about me. We are just mom and dad being good parents. It’s a little different for sure. I wasn’t expecting when we got into town people asking me for my autograph. I said, ‘You mean me?’ It kind of caught me by surprise… It has just been nice seeing Natalie [Eva] perform and doing what she loves. You can tell she loves it.”

Josie couldn’t be happier for her daughter, which is why she had Eva Marie shirts made for the family to represent/support her.

“It’s so amazing because who would have ever dreamt she would be here,” she said. “To see her enjoying her fans and the public and the charity work, it makes us really proud. I’m really proud of her…I don’t think there has been a change in her or us because of the show. We are who we are.

“The show has not changed us whatsoever. We say what we feel. That’s who we are. The boys can be nasty to her, but they’ve always been that way to her because they are the older brothers. Yeah, they may come across as jerks sometimes. At the same time, she is used to it because she grew up competing with them. If they could play ball, she felt she could play ball. It made her stronger because she could hold her own, even with the men. On the other hand they can be pretty crappy to her, but when push comes to shove, they’ve been there for her.”

Marie appreciates her family standing by her side. The driven performer says she was raised to go for everything she wants. Cameras followed the WWE signee’s first steps in sports entertainment, not to mention her personal life. However, Marie was up to the challenge.

“I got my developmental deal first, and I got ‘Total Divas,’” she said. “Everything from there it just went, boom! I was living my life on reality TV. I had to perform for WWE, as well as show that to the whole world. For season four of ‘Total Divas,’ you are going to see my in-ring work. I’m going for that title heading into SummerSlam. Go big or go home.”

It wasn’t just the WWE aspect of the up-and-coming diva’s life that has been featured on the show. Marie’s past struggles with alcohol, relationships and even health issues were caught on camera. “Total Divas” revealed one of Marie’s implants had ruptured, causing silicone to leak into her blood stream, requiring surgery and time away from the ring. By putting their marriage and everyday struggles in the public eye, Coyle can see it helping members of the audience.

“In this show we are real people with real problems,” he said. “We fight, makeup and love each other, learn from it and move forward. It is reality TV, but her health issues were something we had to deal with. It was very scary. When she showed her insecurities and had to deal with that with cameras on her, I just thought it was amazing she allowed that to be shown. She is a woman who may appear to be perfect, but she still goes through things every human being does…That was real. Sitting there and hearing your wife, who I think is the most beautiful woman in the world, describe herself in such a way and then seeing an artist portray her was powerful for me and her to see, too. It really opened my eyes as well.”

Coyle knows among the greatest joy his wife can have in her career is when she gets to spend time with the WWE Universe.

“She is so passionate about that,” he said. “She loves to perform and put on a good show, but when Eva gets to meet every single fan and interact with them. It means more to her than people realize. The last one was actually her third signing this whole week. Most people at Axxess do one or two. This is her third. The crazy thing and just showing how much she loves her fans, Axxess closed down earlier in the week and everyone left. She saw some fans were left and said, ‘Not one of my fans is going to leave without an autograph and photo.’ So she stayed after Axxess closed to make sure she signed and met every single one who waited in line.”

Marie is excited about returning to the ring after surgery. The diva strives to continue to grow and evolve before our very eyes.

“If you follow me on social media you are going to see the clips of me training and progressing,” she said. “Then you will see me back in the ring, hopefully in a few weeks. Triple H has definitely been helping me out, and I appreciate that. I bounce ideas off of him. Brian Kendrick is amazing. I’m asking him a bunch of different questions. Then when I get in the ring with him, I’ll improve my skills right there.”

- “Total Divas” returns for season four on July 7 on E!

- Follow Eva Marie @NatalieEvaMarie

- Follow me on Twitter @smFISHMAN

- Pro Wrestling On the Web

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This story was originally published April 19, 2015 at 9:27 PM with the headline "PRO WRESTLING: WWE diva Eva Marie, husband, parents enjoy WrestleMania Week together."