Legendary WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia married a former pro wrestler in a WrestleMania week wedding.
In November 2025, Lilian Garcia revealed that she was engaged to former wrestler Patrick Ellrich, who competed under the ring name Hayden Young in several independent promotions, including NWA Anarchy. She then revealed that WWE’s Xavier Woods is who set them up.
Now, the couple has officially tied the knot on Sunday, April 12. Speaking about the timing of the wedding, Patrick Ellrich told Zack Heydorn of the Takedown on SI that they plan to have a WrestleMania honeymoon in Las Vegas. “It does make too much sense. Yeah, it’s like, boom, we get married, and then we’re off to Vegas for a WrestleMania honeymoon.”
Lilian Garcia then revealed that while they initially considered a big wedding, they opted for a simple, serene celebration after things became too overwhelming.
“Yeah, we were gonna do a bigger wedding with more friends, Lilian Garcia said. “Trish Stratus was ready to fly in. Candice Michelle, like yeah, there were some people that were ready to fly in. But as we were preparing, it started getting very overwhelming. So, the joy started depleting and the stress of it started piling on.
“I went into my prayer closet, which has been so vital for me in receiving Christ. I went in there and I’m talking to God, and I’m just literally, like, ‘God, I know this is supposed to be about the unity of us and you being there to unite us. Why is this becoming so overwhelming and so stressful?’ And all I kept hearing was, make it simple. Make it simple.”
Lilian Garcia and Patrick Ellrich originally wanted to elope
Speaking further, Lilian Garcia revealed that the original plan was for her and Patrick Ellrich to elope. However, their friends wanted to throw them an intimate barbecue, which they were happy to accept.
“We could not have orchestrated this any better,” Lilian Garcia said. “During the ceremony, we were overlooking a bridge and you could hear the water flowing and the birds chirping. It was so peaceful. The whole vibe was peaceful.
“We were just going to elope on a bridge and they were like, ‘we really want to throw you this barbecue,'” Garcia said. “It’s right down from where they live. There’s a patch of grass that is beautiful. It’s up on a hill and it overlooks the hike that I went on that led me into Proper Hop Taphouse, which led me into meeting Patrick.
“So, it’s pretty cool that (we were) able to have this ceremony there. It was so serene and so beautiful. You could actually see the bridge that we were going to get married at, which was the bridge that I crossed into his place. So it’s like, this is absolutely perfect. (We did) the ceremony there, and then joined the barbecue,” Lilian Garcia said.
She was worried about people’s perception of her having a simple wedding
Lilian Garcia then admitted that she had to fight the thought that a simple wedding wouldn’t be enough, as it’s not something people normally associate with someone from WWE.
“I had a hard time,” Garcia said. “And I want to admit this, I had a hard time because of the image of being a WWE Superstar. Like, this isn’t big enough for what people’s perception of what it should be. I had to fight that.
“And when I got to that simplicity, or kept hearing the simple, and then talked to Patrick about it, and even him saying, ‘babe, this isn’t about image. Like, remember what this is all about.’ I’m like, ‘you’re absolutely right.’ And we can get so caught up in that. In the image of social media and the status symbol. We forget what the core importance of things are,” Lilian Garcia said.
Lilian Garcia wanted her story to teach others not to be embarrassed about past life choices
Both Lilian Garcia and Patrick Ellrich have had previous marriages. The WWE star noted that her past life has been a good learning experience, and that she wanted her story to teach people not to be embarrassed about their past.
“There’s a lot of people that look down on others who’ve been married multiple times,” Garcia said. My past relationships reflected where I was in my life at that time. and they’ve been important learning experiences. That’s why it’s important to focus on working on yourself, including getting rid of past traumas, so that you can make better choices.
“It’s also important to be ok being single first, so that you don’t choose someone based on the fear of being alone. I like for (my story) to be a teaching lesson to help others along the way. To not be so embarrassed about your past choices. There’s been a learning lesson in each one. Patrick and I both are aligned in that,” Lilian Garcia said.
The couple is going on a WrestleMania honeymoon
Patrick Ellrich shared his excitement about travelling to Las Vegas for WWE WrestleMania 42 with Lilian Garcia after their wedding.
“I can’t hide how I am absolutely over the moon excited I am to be going to WrestleMania,” Ellrich said. “In Vegas and a couple days after we get married? With Lilian Garcia? I’m so excited. I love the lineup of matches. I’m pumped about getting to go to the Hall of Fame as well. Getting to see what she’s (Lilian) doing with Trish that week and then getting to just run around WWE World for a few days as well? I can’t hide my excitement.”
Garcia also has quite the schedule for the weekend, including an event with Trish Stratus.
“So, we leave Wednesday to go to Vegas, and then Thursday, I have a Make-A- Wish event, which is awesome in the morning,” Garcia said. “Then I’m doing a signing for Topps … And then I’m doing Trish’s event. So, Thursday, and that starts at five o’clock. It’s taking photos with fans and I’ll be moderating the Q and A that night. She and I got tons of questions.
“Not a lot of people know that she and I traveled together her entire career. She was there seven years straight, She and I rode together for that whole time. We have stories. We have many stories. So we’re going to share some of those stories and then answer the Q and A’s on Thursday night. I’m supposed to be doing something at WWE World Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Friday night is Hall of Fame,” Lilian Garcia said.
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