During a recent piece written for The Players Tribune, Amanda Huber commented on her marriage to Brodie Lee, AEW treating their family extremely well following his passing, and more. You can check out some highlights from the piece below:
On the bumps in their relationship: “I know there’s a tendency, after someone passes, to want to sugarcoat things — to tell the “easy” version of the story. But that’s not something I’m interested in doing with the story of me and Jon. It just wouldn’t feel right. Our love was never perfect….. but it was always real. And I will not be ashamed of what was real. So I just wanted to say that up front. The truth is, when Jon and I first started dating, we fought all the time. We were That Couple: the one that’s constantly arguing, constantly making up. It wasn’t exactly the kind of romance you dream about. It was a grind — a lot like our wrestling dreams. And I don’t think that was a coincidence. Actually….. I think the two things were very related.”
On things nearly ending at one point and Brodie seeking help: “Jon and I were always in love with each other….. I have no doubt about that. But it’s like he just couldn’t always find the peace he needed, to allow himself to have that love. I’m not too proud to say that he broke up with me several times. That he broke my heart several times. He was never abusive toward me — not once, not ever. But he knew he was the love of my life. And he could be mean. At some point I decided that I had to move on. This was around 2009, and we’d just broken up again. It was never not love….. but I was exhausted. We had been dating since 2003 — and now here we were, six years later, still spinning in a circle. We needed to stop.
So this time, when Jon asked me to take him back, like I had so many times before….. I said no. I just told him, you know — I’ll always be there for you. I’ll always be your best friend, your ride-or-die. But I think this is the end of the road for us as a couple. I want marriage. I want a family. That’s something I know I want….. that’s my happy ending. And it just doesn’t seem to be yours. So for us both to be happy, I think this is best. And then Jon got help. I want to be careful with how I phrase this, because I think it’s easy to oversimplify things when it comes to talking about mental health. But this is such an important part of Jon’s story, to me. And I hope that it ends up being a part of his legacy. I hope that, when people remember Jon, they mention one of the bravest things he ever did: He had unresolved trauma — and he confronted it.”
On Brodie’s goals in WWE: “I think Jon accepted his “spot” for what it was, for the most part. I mean…. he got to wrestle for a living. Our family had more financial security than either of us could’ve hoped for. He’d made lifelong friends. Jon was never ungrateful for the opportunities that WWE had given him — and he usually had a pretty healthy perspective on what mattered. But everyone still has dreams, you know?? And I think deep down, under Jon’s pessimism, there was still that kid who dreamed of “winning the big one.” And though he’d been wrong about what he could achieve in WWE all those times before….. unfortunately, it seemed like Jon was going to be right about the world title. He’d won the IC belt in the fall of 2014 — but then a couple of years passed, and that was still the furthest he’d managed to move up the card. He’d hit his “WWE ceiling,” in other words. And I think it stung him, in his own way, having to come to terms with that.
But then something strange happened. I guess it started in October 2016, when Jon came back from his injury. Jon had torn a ligament in his knee that March, then missed the next six months rehabbing. For his return, they teamed him up with Bray again, in an updated version of the Wyatts — this time with Randy Orton, of all people, as part of the group. And from there, this really great story developed between Bray, Randy and Jon. I won’t try to summarize it, but it was basically a cool twist on the usual Wyatt stuff: Where, instead of Bray seducing Randy into joining the Family, Randy seduced Bray into thinking he was seducing Randy into joining the Family. When, in truth, Randy was planning to infiltrate the group….. then turn on them. And Jon was the only person who saw the scheme for what it was. Ultimately, this was all ramping up to a huge match at WrestleMania…. Bray against Randy, for Bray’s WWE title.
Like I said, though — something strange happened: Instead of getting behind Bray or Randy, the crowd started to get behind Jon. It was one of the most layered stories that he ever got to tell in WWE, and he just crushed it. He played his part to perfection, as the classic guy who’s paranoid but no one will listen….. and then it turns out that he was actually right to be paranoid, all along. I think the fans really related to him, and were excited to see these new shades of Luke Harper. And as Jon’s momentum kept building, through late 2016 and into early 2017 (aka “WrestleMania season”), the crowds started to get behind him as more than just a supporting character. Now a lot of fans were voicing their opinion that the match should be a three-way….. with Jon added in. It was this amazing, organic thing. And it breaks my heart a little to think about, but Jon really did want it….. and he kind of almost started to believe that it might happen. We’d be talking, and he’d just tell me, like: “Even if the bell rings, and I get hit with an RKO, and I’m laying there for the rest of the match until it’s over — I’d take it. I’d still take that. It would still mean I was in a world title match at WrestleMania.”
On how well AEW has treated Brodie Jr: “AEW signs my paychecks — and if you want to, you are more than welcome to take the praise I give them with a grain of salt. But I don’t bullsh*t when it comes to my kids. And the way that AEW treated Brodie that night….. I will never forget it. They took this little boy, on one of the last days before he’d have to find out that he was losing his dad. And they made him feel like a superhero. Whether it was Chris letting him ride on his plane. Whether it was Tony letting him hang out backstage. Whether it was Megha and Margaret watching over him with so much care. (I haven’t mentioned them yet, although I guess it makes sense in a way — they were like my guardian angels through all of this. Megha is a lawyer for AEW and the Jaguars; Margaret is head of AEW HR. Without them, we wouldn’t have had even a fighting chance.) Whether it was Miro, or FTR, or Spears, or whoever, treating Brodie like he belonged and being so, so cool. Whether it was the guys in the Elite basically making him an honorary member. Whether it was Kenny, who was world champion at the time, filming a segment after the show where Brodie got to “beat” Kenny for the AEW title. I’ll never be able to thank everyone enough for what they did. That night went above and beyond a workplace — or even friendship. It was family.”
