Gail Kim discusses financial disagreements with promoters throughout her illustrious career, many of which stemmed from their claims that her husband was wealthy.
Kim, who has been married to chef and talk show host Robert Irvine since 2012, recently appeared on the HUGE POP! podcast. She revealed that on numerous occasions, promoters brought up her husband’s wealth as an excuse not to pay her what she was owed.
“I’ve had promoters literally admit to me that they didn’t wanna pay me because they thought my husband was rich,” Kim said. “When I met my husband, he wasn’t rich, okay? He worked his ass off to get where he is in his successes, to this day, and I’ll say, I used to resent it so much. Now, I’m so grateful and I’m like, you know what though? Because he is successful now, I’m not in a place where I can be pushed around or accept less than my value and all those things, so, it’s kind of a double-edged sword in a sense, but, it’s just mind-blowing. It’s either — I don’t know.
Gail Kim on her past financial struggles
“I’ve heard every excuse in the book of why I shouldn’t get paid equally, and then hearing people actually admit because they think my husband does well. Guess what? My husband loves that I’m independent. That was one of the reasons why he fell in love with me, and it’s a constant fight. It’s always been a fight from the very beginning of my career, till the very end of, you know, when I just finished recently so, it’s pretty crazy.” [H/T Fightful]
Gail Kim is best known for her time in TNA Wrestling, where she became a seven-time Knockouts World Champion. After retiring from full-time in-ring competition in 2018, she transitioned into a producer role with the company. In 2025, Kim was released from TNA after 14 years as part of a leadership overhaul.
Read More: Gail Kim Shoots Down Rumor About Her Contacting AEW For Work
