Sonya Deville Talks Upcoming Wedding, Names LGBTQ Mount Rushmore

It’s Pride 2023 and Sonya Deville, WWE’s first openly gay female wrestler, is having her biggest celebration yet.

Deville recently proposed to her girlfriend Toni Cassano, and is spending Pride Month making wedding plans. Toni will be taking Deville’s real-life last name (say hi to the Berenato’s), and the ceremony will be a departure form the traditional white-bright wedding theme. Similar to Deville’s ring gear, the Berenato’s wedding ceremony will incorporate black tones to give off a more “edgy and moody” aesthetic. Deville’s love story with Cassano wasn’t love at first sight. Instead, in this age of social media, it was love at first “like.”

“It’s going to sound odd, but it was before I even met her,” said Deville about when she knew her now-fiancee was the one.

“I followed her on Instagram for a few years, and she followed me, and I would just look at her posts and I was like ‘this is like my wife.’ I know it sounds crazy, but she just had everything going on that I’m into. She just seemed so genuine and real, and the day I met her I was like ‘she’s exactly everything I thought she would be and more.’”

The ceremony is expected to accommodate around 150 guests, and has a star-studded guest list featuring current and former WWE Superstars Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose and television personality Maria Menounos. Deville announced the engagement on February 22, 2023 after Deville popped the question.

“It wasn’t anything that was verbally discussed, it just was natural in my mind that I was going to propose to her,” said Deville.

“I think in her mind, she wanted me to have that moment as well because she just knows me and she knows that’s something that I would do. But she wanted to have a ring to give back to me when I did propose, so she went and had a ring made by the same jeweler (Happy Jewelers) that I had her ring made.”

“She was carrying it around in her purse for like three months so whenever I proposed she would have a ring to give back to me.”

Despite being a hopeless romantic offscreen, the Sonya Deville character is much more conniving and cutthroat on WWE television. Once a power-hungry general manager, Deville has now returned to the ring where she can do what she loves most: wrestle. This time around, the character’s revamp features a pairing with fellow veteran, and Tough Enough alumni, Chelsea Green.

“It’s been insane, it’s been so much fun,” said Deville about working with Green.

“We’re like yin and yang, we go perfectly together. When I heard the idea, I was like ‘hmm,’ because when you think of Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville on paper, you think of quite the opposite. But when y0u put us together, I think our opposites attract and we complement each other, so it’s really funny. It’s also funny because we were on Tough Enough together eight years ago almost, which makes me feel really old. But it’s crazy—a full circle moment—to see us now working together in WWE on Monday Night Raw eight years later from when we were both trying to break into the business. So that’s cool, too.”

With a budding catchphrase of “I’d like to speak with the manager,” Green embodies a Karen-like persona. This is fitting because during Sonya Deville’s 2021 feud with Naomi, Deville often spoke on the phone with a conspicuous friend named Karen. Despite Deville’s history with Karens, however, she insists her character is anything but one.

“I feel like Sonya/Daria is almost like an anti-Karen,” said Deville.

“But I feel like my character is more direct and straight to the point of what she wants. What she wants is different than what Chelsea’s character wants. I think Chelsea’s character cares about making sure there’s lattes in the locker room and making sure that her shirts are ironed and whatever, and I think Sonya is more worried about winning, and proving herself, and power and control.”

“I think we go about it two different ways as well,” continued Deville. “Sometimes Chelsea can get lost in the words, and I’m more ‘it’s nothing personal, it’s business, I want what I want.’ So that’s why I think we complement each other well. When she needs to finesse and manipulate and use her tactics, it works perfect, and when Sonya needs to be straight to the point and direct, it works great for that, too.”

Deville is no stranger to onscreen pairings. For years, Deville was aligned with former WWE Superstar, and real-life best friend, Mandy Rose. A bond that is just as strong personally as it is professionally, Rose and Deville own a donut business (Damandyz Donuts) and are both represented by First Round Management. Now working with Chelsea Green as her new tag team partner, Deville can appreciate the stark contrasts between the two stars.

“Mandy’s onscreen character wasn’t very funny, but in real life she’s very funny,” Deville said. “[Mandy] was more of the bombshell whereas Chelsea’s more comedic. I don’t even know if she means to be, but she’s just very funny on camera. It’s very hard to do segments with her sometimes and not laugh. I think they’re both very different. Mandy was kind of the egomaniac blonde bombshell who was tough in the ring, and I feel like Chelsea is kind of this comedic, charismatic Karen-type character that also still has a way of being taken seriously in the ring. I like that about both of them, no matter their role or their look they’re both very legitimate competitors.”

Questions about Mount Rushmore’s are as ubiquitous in wrestling as baby oil these days, but in honor of Pride Month, I asked Sonya to name her Mount Rushmore of LGBTQ icons.

“That is so hard, oh my gosh,” said Deville while contemplating her list.

“So I’m going to go with Fletcher. Fletcher is a musician if you don’t know, she’s incredible. She’s been someone that I’ve looked up to for a couple years. Me and my fiancee love her. She just makes LGBTQ music which, when you’re gay and you’re listening to music, sometimes it’s hard to relate about a guy singing about a woman and vice versa. Fletcher sings about her life and her love stories, so it’s really relatable and cool.”

“Also Katy Perry. She’s been a huge advocate for the LGBTQ community for so long in her music, obviously. RuPaul is incredible, I used to religiously watch [RuPaul’s Drag Race]. There’s just so many and I feel like I’m not going to give a solid answer if I answer on the spot, so I’ll do my mini Mount Rushmore.”