Diva Dish: Celebrity Crushes, Part One
By Jen Hunt and Kara A. Medalis
Written: April 6, 2007
This week in Diva Dish, Raw Divas Candice Michelle, Mickie James, Victoria and Melina expose their celebrity crushes; Queen Sharmell talks style and success; Maria shares a secret; Layla and Kelly Kelly recall their first ’Mania; Michelle McCool works out and Lilian Garcia talks about her recovery.
Idol attraction
After Victoria revealed she has a crush on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in this week’s special WrestleMania Edition of Diva Dish, we thought we’d ask more of the Divas which celebrities they’re hot for. This week, Raw’s Sexiest Women on Television reveal their secret celebrity crushes.
“Well, I don’t think this person is really a celebrity yet, but I think he’s cute. His name is Blake Lewis. He’s on American Idol. He’s the beatboxer. I like him. He’s got style. I like that,” Candice Michelle said.
“But I don’t have any Brad Pitt crushes. Although maybe Matthew McConaughey…” she giggled.
Mickie James agreed with Candice when it comes to the male half of Brangelina.
“I really don’t have any celebrity crushes! I used to have a huge crush on Brad Pitt, but he’s really let himself go. It’s not that he’s ugly – he’s a good looking man,” she said. “But he’s nowhere near the man he was when he came on the scene, like in Thelma & Louise. Fight Club was cool – he was kind of rough, though. It’s not that I like the pretty boy Brad Pitt. But I like it when he showers.”
Mickie must be brushing up on her celebrity skills, because she offered us a few more…
“George Clooney – he’s a good looking guy, especially for an older gentleman. Mark Wahlberg – he’s one of those guys who has a harder sex appeal, but he’s not like dead sexy all the time. He’s sexy in certain scenarios,” she said. “When I was younger I used to love Tom Cruise in Cocktail and Top Gun.”
In addition to Stone Cold, Victoria said she thinks actor Leonardo DiCaprio was dreamy in Romeo + Juliet.
“I don’t necessarily like bigger guys, but I love tall, tall men. I like dark hair. I like the total Italian thing – tall, dark and handsome,” Victoria said. “I think I’m more into personality now. I like my guy to have a sense of humor and be able to have a conversation with me.”
Women’s Champion Melina said her celebrity crush is her true love – Johnny Nitro.
“Just him. He’s the only one that turns me on. Everyone else is cool. I see them as cool friends. But Nitro’s the only one that gets my engine going,” she purred.
Torrie Wilson said she simply likes to keep it real when it comes to men.
“I don’t really have any celebrity crushes I have never been one of those girls who swoons over celebrities like that. I’m more of a real man kind of girl,” she said. “I like a real man.”
Check back in two weeks when Diva Dish talks to SmackDown and ECW Divas about their celebrity crushes.
Stylish and svelte
We think Queen Sharmell stole the show with her ravishing, two-piece, black and white, feather-adorned gown at WrestleMania 23. The Queen of class told Diva Dish she owes some of her style to music legend Diana Ross.
“Five years ago or so I saw Diana Ross at an awards show and she wore something similar to my dress. It wrapped around, so you couldn’t see what she wore underneath, and all of a sudden she dropped it and the red feathers were actually the train,” Sharmell explained. “That’s where the inspiration came from. My private seamstress designed it, and I think it was an amazing outfit. I’m very, very happy with it.”
But it wasn’t only Sharmell’s dress that was looking incredible. We think the Queen was more gorgeous than ever at WrestleMania.
“I felt like the Queen needed to step up her game just like everybody else. This is our Super Bowl of WWE and I just wanted to be totally amazing,” Sharmell said. “I wanted a new hair color and length. I wanted a better body. I worked really hard. I dieted really, really hard. King Booker was very proud of me. I sacrificed a lot for WrestleMania. It paid off.”
Sharmell worked with a personal trainer and adopted a healthier diet. She admitted she has a sweet tooth, but for WrestleMania, it was worth giving up sugar.
“I ate a good, clean diet. I ate a lot of grilled chicken and fish, and steamed broccoli and vegetables. I cut out the sugar, bread and chocolate – all the stuff I love,” she said.
“Right after WrestleMania I had a piece of triple chocolate cake, but my system isn’t responding well to the junk food now that I’ve been eating clean. I think that I’m going to stick with the clean diet, but I’m going to have a treat every now and then, just not every day.”
A Diva’s secret
Maria has a secret, and soon she’ll be sharing it with WWE fans. WWE.com’s Secret Sessions will premiere on April 15, and Maria will be the first Diva to offer a special peek into her life. Diva Dish will never let you down, WWE fans, so we offer you a little tidbit from Maria’s Secret Sessions shoot. Behind the scenes, the Raw Diva relaxed while wearing a darling little Betty Boop robe.
“Betty Boop has always been my favorite. My nickname is ‘Boop,’ ” Maria said. “It’s because when I was a little girl and I’d fall down, I’d go, ‘Boop!’ So my dad started calling me Boop. And Betty Boop sings the song ‘Boop Boop Be Doop,’ and she’s so cute!”
Maria mentioned that she’d love to use the Betty Boop song for the Kiss Cam, because she loves it so much. The Diva said she can relate to Betty Boop because they’re both fashionistas who can pull off many styles.
“I take after that, because I love fashion. You’ll see her on a Harley, and the next time you’ll see her she’ll be all cute in a dress. Then next she’ll do the Marilyn Monroe pose. I just think she’s cute, you know?” Maria said. “But she’s got a body! She’s not like some of the cartoon characters who are stick figures and they’re supposed to be the hot chick.”
Stay tuned to WWE.com for more on Maria’s upcoming Secret Sessions debut.
WrestleMania firsts
Layla told Diva Dish her first WrestleMania was a little overwhelming, but she had the time of her life and would do it again in a heartbeat.
“For the first time ever, I was so scared. I held Kelly Kelly’s hand and said, ‘I’m scared – I don’t know if I can go out there!’ ” she admitted. “I remember watching Batista come out and thinking he looked small next to the enormity of the WrestleMania set. If the massive Batista looked small, I wondered what the Divas were going to look like out there.”
“But once you go out there, there’s adrenaline, there’s a rush. That’s why we do what we do. It’s an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. I love being out there,” the ECW Diva said.
Last week’s Diva fashion report from the Hall of Fame ceremony included lovely Layla, who was wearing a hot Betsey Johnson dress.
“I love Betsey Johnson. I know she’s crazy and wacky, but she does a lot of really nice couture. I’ve had a couple of dresses from her,” Layla said. “I walked into the store and saw that – it was red, one of my favorite colors. And it was tight-fitting and shows my figure off. I put it on and I was like, ‘Wow!’ It worked. It clicked.”
Layla said she was delighted to see all the WWE Superstars and Divas dressed up for the event, but the one who impressed her most was WWE Champion John Cena.
“He had a suit on! I had never seen him in a suit! But all the guys looked nice,” she said.
Layla’s Extreme Exposé partner, Kelly Kelly, had a special family member with her throughout WrestleMania week – her mom.
“She had so much fun. She went everywhere with me to my appearances. She was in awe. All my other family members were very jealous of her!” Kelly said. “This was her first real introduction to sports-entertainment. She was overwhelmed. She watches it every week, all the brands.”
There was just one snag – Kelly’s younger sister’s prom was Saturday night, so Mom and Big Sis missed the big night.
“My sister was really mad we weren’t there! I haven’t seen her dress yet, but my mom said it was exactly like what I wore for prom,” Kelly explained.
“Sadly, my sister’s high school graduation is the night of an ECW show, a Tuesday night. She’s very upset I can’t make it,” Kelly said. “She said she better get a good graduation gift! But my family will definitely come out when ECW comes to Florida in June.”
Healthy return
We’re sure most WWE fans have noticed Michelle McCool is looking better than ever and has returned to SmackDown. Diva Dish couldn’t be happier to see her back in action! Michelle took a moment to give us the details on her recent work outs.
“As far as physicality goes, I’ve been back on the live events competing in some matches. I’ve been hitting the gym – lifting weights and also running. I like free-weights versus machines,” she said.
Michelle said she prefers working out in the great outdoors even more than being in the gym.
“Being an athlete, I like to do more plyometric-type stuff and agility drills outside. I like walking lunges, jump squats, running stairs, push ups, boxing, hitting the heavy bag. I like to change it up and do a lot of stuff outside,” she said.
Road to recovery
Raw ring announcer Lilian Garcia underwent surgery on her torn ACL yesterday at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. While the Diva is still sore, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Armin Tehrany has given her an excellent prognosis after her ski injury; however, Lilian won’t be back in the Raw ring for at least three weeks.
Lilian told Diva Dish she’s going to miss being in front of the WWE fans for a few weeks, and feels particularly sad she can’t travel to Europe with the Superstars later this month.
“I just want to say thanks to the WWE fans. Recently when I was in the ring, during commercial breaks, everyone was asking how I was doing and telling me they were going to miss me. They were awesome. I can’t thank the WWE fans enough,” she said.
“It felt so good going into this, knowing how loved I am by the fans and how much they care. They give me the strength and determination to get well quickly and get back out there.”
Credit: WWE.com
