LaRosa's boyfriend, SFC Adrian Marcos Elizalde, was killed on August 23, 2007 when an improvised explosive device hit his truck in Al Aziziyah, Iraq. LaRosa was in Vancouver doing promotional work for BodogFight when she heard the news of Elizalde's death. They met as training partners while LaRosa was an instructor in modern army combat in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Elizalde, age 30, worked as an engineer in the U.S. Special Forces.