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The incredibly demanding and hectic schedule that comes with being a professional wrestler isn't something that many can handle. The pressure of being on the road and wrestling on a weekly basis is enough to affect one's mental and physical well-being.
WWE veteran Brock Lesnar's 2004 exit is an example of a wrestler being burnt out to the point that they called it quits. It isn't surprising that being on the road together for such an extended period of time tends to lead to wrestlers forming relationships with each other.
In some cases, wrestlers get together with people outside of the wrestling business, either with regular folk, or celebrities who are as popular, if not more than them. Relationships between wrestlers and non-famous partners have been covered on various occasions in the past.
Today, we will take a look at wrestlers who dated celebrities and also wrestlers who went on to marry celebs.
#6 Torrie Wilson (dated Alex Rodriguez)
Back in the early 2000s, popular WWE Diva Torrie Wilson was married to fellow wrestler Billy Kidman. The duo got divorced in 2008 because of Torrie's hectic schedule. Between 2011 and 2015, Torrie dated Alex Rodriguez, a famous baseball player who is notable for playing the third baseman for the New York Yankees.
The couple was together during the final years of Rodriguez's stint as a legendary MLB player. They were seen enjoying WrestleMania 28 at ringside. This was the same event that featured John Cena vs The Rock in the main event and broke WWE WrestleMania 23's 5-year PPV-buyout record.
Torrie and Alex Rodriguez split up in 2015. Four years later, Torrie got hitched to Justin Tupper, CEO, and founder of Revolution Golf. Torrie was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 for her contributions towards the business while wrestling under the WCW and WWE umbrellas.
#5 Gail Kim (married Robert Irvine)
Gail Kim is notable for her two runs in WWE, several years apart, plus her stint in IMPACT Wrestling where she rose to fame and went on to get inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2016.
Kim is a former WWE Women's Champion and is also a seven-time TNA Knockouts Champion. Kim's first televised WWE match saw her winning her only Women's title in the company. On an episode of RAW in June 2003, Kim eliminated Victoria in the final moments of a battle royal to capture the Women's title. She successfully defended her title once against Molly Holly, before dropping the belt to her soon after.
Celebrity chef Robert Irvine met Gail Kim when a bunch of professional wrestlers appeared on a special episode of Dinner: Impossible. Kim recalled how Irvine liked the fact that he couldn't intimidate her.
He liked the fact that he didn’t intimidate me. We're the only ones who would put up with each other.
Robert proposed to Gail Kim soon after, giving her a special chocolate diamond ring. The couple got married in May 2012 and are still happily together.
#4 Dolph Ziggler (dated Amy Schumer)
It has been more than 15 years since Dolph Ziggler made his way to WWE. Initially portraying the role of a male cheerleader as a part of The Spirit Squad, Ziggler later became a solo act and quickly rose to fame on the WWE SmackDown brand. Ziggler is a two-time World Champion and has also won several other mid-card titles.
Fans might be aware of the fact that Ziggler is also a stand-up comedian. Ziggler dated fellow comedian Amy Schumer for a short period before the two called it quits. Ziggler went on to talk about his relationship with Schumer in an interview.
It's really challenging. I love… It was so great. Like, usually, I'm the killer funny one and I'm like, 'ah, she's funnier than me? This is… Oh yeah? Alright. Lets see.' It makes me think and it challenges me. I love it. It was so fun. I held my own, by the way. And constantly, she'd be like, 'you know you're not funnier than me?' 'We'll see. We'll see.'
Ziggler has been involved with several WWE female Superstars during his run with the company, most notably AJ Lee and Mandy Rose. Ziggler and Rose' on-screen romantic association came to an end on the Road to WWE WrestleMania 36, when Rose found out that Ziggler and Sonya Deville had tricked her into hating on Otis.
#3 Batista (married Sarah Jade)
Batista rose to fame while being a part of Triple H's stable, Evolution, in the early to mid-2000s. Dubbed as The Animal, Batista went on to turn on Triple H and became one of the biggest WWE Superstars of the time, along with John Cena and Randy Orton. He soon made his way to Hollywood and landed several roles, before getting a major break in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Batista got married to Sarah Jade, a pole dancer who has competed on the national level. In the 2012 USPDF Amateur Nationals, Jade secured the second spot and was crowned Miss Pole Dance America in 2016. Jade has won the Ms. Athletic crown at Florida Pole Fitness Championship, in 2012 and 2013.
Batista and Jade separated in early 2019, soon after which he announced on Twitter that he is single again. Batista went on to flirt with WWE Superstar Dana Brooke on Twitter on several occasions and later stated that the two are close friends.
Batista was announced as an inductee into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame, but the ceremony was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
#2 Stacy Keibler (dated George Clooney)
Stacy Keibler attracted eyeballs during her stint as Miss Hancock in WCW. She made her way to WWE during the Invasion angle, months after Vince McMahon had bought off the company. During her runs with both WCW and WWE, Keibler was used on TV as eye candy.
She was in on-screen relationships and also had off-screen relationships with the likes of David Flair and Andrew 'Test' Martin. Keibler's WWE stint ended in mid-2006, after being a part of the company for around five years.
Keibler got into a relationship with Hollywood legend George Clooney in 2011. Clooney is well known for his roles in Hollywood blockbusters, From Dusk Till Dawn and Ocean's 11. Keibler and Clooney were in a relationship for two years, before calling it off in 2013. Keibler then went on to form a relationship with Jared Pobre, the CEO of Future Ads. The duo got married in 2014 and have three children together - one boy and two girls.
#1 JBL (married Meredith Whitney)
JBL got his chance to shine in 2004 immediately after WrestleMania 20. With Brock Lesnar having left WWE after the historic event, WWE needed a major heel on the SmackDown brand. Bradshaw split with his APA partner Farooq and donned the gimmick of JBL.
He soon defeated Eddie Guerrero for the WWE title and held it for the next nine months or so, finally dropping it to John Cena at WrestleMania 21. JBL spent most of his remaining WWE stint as an upper mid-card act and never captured the WWE title again. He retired from active competition at WrestleMania 25, minutes after losing the Intercontinental title to Rey Mysterio in a matter of seconds.
JBL got hitched to Meredith Whitney in early 2005, while he was still ruling the blue brand as the WWE Champion. Whitney is a popular financial analyst and a celebrity in the financial world. She was dubbed by Bloomberg as “The Oracle of Wall Street”. Back in 2007-08, during the global financial crisis, Whitney forecasted the difficulties of several major banks, including Citigroup.
