A cause of death has not yet been determined for Sara Lee, the former Tough Enough winner, WWE wrestler, and ex grappler who has reportedly died at age 30. “It is with heavy hearts we wanted to share that our Sara Weston has gone to be with Jesus. We are all in shock and arrangements are not complete,” her mother Terri Lee wrote alongside a stunning formal pic of Sara via Facebook on October 6. We ask that you respectfully let our family mourn. We all need prayers, especially Cory [her husband] and her children.”
Here’s what to know about the young mother and wrestling pro as family and friends come to terms with her sudden loss.
Her husband is a wrestler.
Sara married WWE wrestler Cory James Weston, (known professionally as Westin Blake) 35, back in December of 2017, and had been married 5 years at the time of her death. In a July 2021 interview, Westin recalled meeting her for the first time. “We met at the Performance Center,” he told Chris Van Vliet. When Tough Enough was coming out I used to go to a friend’s apartment and we used to watch it. I will never forget when they announced the 11 Tough Enough people. When Sarah came across the screen, I said to the guys, ‘I don’t know what it is, but I think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on.’ It was crazy, this was before the show was even a thing. Just by fate, she ends up winning it. I was super proud of her. When you are that beautiful inside and out, it shows through the camera. I think that was what helped her win. We started talking at the NXT Combine. We were doing some weight room testing. We did the rower and I did so much where I threw up. I was in the weight room, head over a trash can as the girls were about to start, great first impression [laughs]. She was so sweet that later on that night she messaged me on Twitter saying ‘Hey I hope you feel better.’ And from there it just took off.”
Sara called Blake “the love of her life” in a second anniversary post on December 30, 2019. “Thank you for making me laugh like this everyday. I love you so much!!”
Sara was a mother.
At the time of her death, Sara was the mother of three young children. She had a 5-year-old daughter named Piper, and two sons, a 3-year-old named Brady and a baby born in 2021. The wrestling beauty clearly enjoyed being a mama and populated her Instagram account with regular posts featuring her kids. “A boy, a ball, and his mama,” she captioned a small collection of pics with her middle child on August 11, 2020. “She’s a wild one, with an angel’s face,” she captioned an October 12, 2019, selfie of her with her daughter.
She had been under the weather.
Sara took to Instagram just two days before her death to post a robust selfie in workout clothes and disclose that she’d recently been ill. “Celebrating finally being healthy enough to go to the gym 2 days in a row,” she wrote via the platform on October 4, 2022. “First ever sinus infection kicked my butt.” Sara included a mirror selfie and looked healthy as she flexed for the camera in a sleeveless graphic tee, yoga pants, and had her hair pulled into a ponytail.
She won ‘Tough Enough’
Sara won on the WWE reality series Tough Enough in 2015, the show’s sixth season. She walked away with a WWE contract alongside Josh Bredl (Bronson Matthews). Though the victory only translated to nine matches with the company, it ultimately catapulted her to stardom.
She was beloved.
Sara, who was previously known as “Hope,” (a nod to her hometown of Hope Township, Michigan,) was clearly a beloved member of the wrestling community. Pro wrestler Bull James spoke out about hte sudden loss, and organized a GoFundMe for her grieving family. “We’re all shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Tough Enough winner Sara Lee,” he wrote via the Gofundme fundraising page. “As her loving husband, Cory, picks up the pieces and continues to raise their 3 children, the last thing anyone in that position wants to be worried about is money and paying for a funeral and everything else that comes along with it. The wrestling community has always been one to come together in the wake of tragedy and this is no different.”