Wrestling star Ric Flair splits with longtime girlfriend — or was she his wife?
Ric Flair has split with his longtime partner, Wendy Barlow, the wrestling icon said on Instagram.
“After taking some time apart, Wendy and I have decided to go our separate ways,” Flair posted on the site Tuesday. “Please respect our privacy and our families during this time!”
Flair and Barlow gave no reason for the split.
“I will love & cherish all of our memories together forever, and I will forever be thankful for all she has done to make my life better!” Flair said on Instagram.
In September 2018, Flair appeared to have married Barlow, his longtime girlfriend, and released photos of the big day on Facebook, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time.
“The Love of My Life! Wendy Barlow,” Flair posted with a photo of him and his bride — she in her white wedding gown, he in his white tux. He also posted video on Facebook of the wedding ceremony, which People magazine reported at the time was held on the rooftop of the Pearl Hotel in Rosemary Beach, Fla.
Retired NBA player Dennis Rodman and former wrestler Mark Calaway, known as The Undertaker, also attended the ceremony, TMZ Sports reported at the time.
“Thanks To Everyone Who Came And Helped Make Our Day So Special!” Flair wrote in the 2018 Facebook post.
Flair and Barlow, however, told People this week that they never applied for a marriage certificate.
“It was just a ceremony,” the 72-year-old Flair told the magazine. “We were never married.”
The couple met in the early 1990s when Barlow was a wrestling character known as “Fifi the Maid,” Heavy.com reported.
Ric Flair’s deep Charlotte ties
Flair was a relatively unknown wrestler the day he said he arrived in Charlotte “with $150 in my pocket” in 1974, the Observer previously reported.
Charlotte was a professional wrestling epicenter, home to the National Wrestling Alliance, then the second-largest wrestling operation in the U.S. At its helm was Jim Crockett Jr., whom Flair credited with building his career.
Flair had four children: sons Reid Fliehr, a former pro wrestler who died in 2013 at age 25; retired pro wrestler David Fliehr, and daughters, actress Megan Fliehr and 13-time WWE women’s champion Ashley Fliehr, better known as Charlotte Flair. Ashley Fliehr is a former Providence High volleyball player.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 4:47 PM.