Lillian Garcia Opens Up Regarding The Heartbreaking Reason She Departed WWE In 2016

Singer Lillian Garcia joined WWE in 1999 as a ring announcer during the height of the Attitude Era, and thanks to this, her face and voice are instantly recognizable to anyone who followed the product during this time. However, despite being such a huge part of WWE, she left the company in 2016, and now, during an interview with Ten Count Media , she has addressed her departure, explaining that her father had cancer and after they moved in together, she “ just knew I couldn’t get back on a plane. ”

“My father got really sick, and I took care of him. We found out at the end of 2015 that he’s got bladder cancer, and I moved him in with me because the hospital in South Carolina where he lived had run out of options … They told my sister and I that he had two weeks to three months to live, and I just knew I couldn’t get back on a plane. I knew that was it my sister and I went full-on caretaking for him, and he ended up lasting five months. But he passed on Christmas Day in 2016, and I still look back, and I know I made the right decision.”

Following her WWE exit, 58-year-old Garcia announced for the Professional Fighters League, launched a podcast that is currently on hiatus and worked as a motivational speaker. Additionally, she has remained part of the WWE family by making occasional returns, such as announcing the finals of the Mae Young Classic in 2017, appearing at WWE’s first-ever women’s only pay-per-view Evolution in 2018, and more recently announcing the 2024 King of the Ring Quarterfinal tournament match between Gunther and Kofi Kingston.