8 men WWE Hall of Famers Brie and Nikki Bella have dated in real life

WWE hall of Famers Brie and NIkki Bella
WWE hall of Famers Brie and NIkki Bella
WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins
WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins

WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins, Brie and Nikki, have dated several men in the past few decades.

The Bella Twins are celebrating their 38th birthday today. Throughout these years, their careers have gone through several changes. Nikki and Brie did a few modeling and acting jobs before joining WWE in 2007.

Inside the squared circle, the two sisters had a lot of success. Nikki became a two-time Divas Champion, while Brie is a former Divas Champion herself. Outside the ring, they starred in Total Divas and Total Bellas. They also established other projects, including a beauty line.

Like their professional careers, The Bella Twins' personal lives have also gone through several changes in the past years. Both sisters dated a few men, including wrestlers and non-wrestlers, before finding their significant others. While one of them is now married, the other is about to be.

Also Read: What is Brie Bella's net worth?

Here are eight men Brie and Nikki Bella have dated in real life:


#8. WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella's first husband

A few years before joining WWE, Nikki Bella was in a relationship with a guy she called Ken. During an episode of Total Divas seven years ago, the former Divas Champion revealed that they married when she was just 20 years old. Nonetheless, the couple divorced only a few years later:

"I got married when I was 20. And got divorced at 23, to my high school sweetheart. Basically we got married by Elvis. We drove to Vegas, did it," she told her family on Total Divas.

Nikki disclosed that she wanted to get out of that marriage even before the couple officially tied the knot because she knew she was making a mistake. However, she could not:

"Even when I started walking down the aisle, I knew this was a huge mistake and how can I get out of it and I couldn’t. I tried to forget about it but now it’s starting to come up, and I figured you guys have to hear from me before you hear from anyone else," the WWE Hall of Famer added.

In the Bella Twins' book Incomparable, the WWE Hall of Famer stated that she never lived with Ken or took his last name. The former Divas Champion kept her marriage a secret from her family for nearly a decade.

When she finally told them, each of them reacted differently. While her mother thought they all should forget about it, Nikki's brother got upset and left the house.

#7. WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella's childhood sweetheart

Many years before she became a WWE Hall of Famer, Brie Bella was in a relationship with a young man named Edward. Nonetheless, the couple's romance ended tragically.

The former WWE Divas Champion disclosed a few details about her first love in The Bella Twins' book Incomparable. Brie first met Edward, whose nickname was Bear, when they were in high school and was immediately attracted to him. After seeing each other a few times, they finally exchanged numbers:

"He called me the next day and we spoke for four hours, in that way that you do when you’re seventeen and you want to know absolutely everything about someone. We talked until we fell asleep on the phone (...) From that day on, we were inseparable. We had to see each other every day, and we talked all the time, locking up our home phones for hours. We had a profound connection, like we had known each other forever, like it wasn’t our first rodeo," she wrote in her book.

According to Brie, Bear was an artist. She described him as kind, gentle, and honest. They dated for a few months, during which they spoke about marriage and imagined their wedding. However, everything changed when Bear passed away in a car accident.

In an interview with HollywoodLife, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed how Bear's death affected her and how hard it was writing about him in her book:

"It was really hard to relive at my age to just think of myself in high school and it was my first love. We were so in love and we had all these plans, like what we were going to do outside of high school. I thought of myself at a young age, going through that, and it made me sad when I had to retell that story. I’ve had so much spiritual growth since then. So that helps me. But it was weird to just talk about myself at 18 years old and everything I felt then. I literally felt my world collapse on my shoulders, but I do love that the world gets to read about Bear. He was such a special human and it almost makes me proud that people now know him and know just how incredible he was," she said.

The former WWE Divas Champion now has a distinctive bear claw tattoo on her lower stomach to perpetuate her high school sweetheart's memory.


#6. WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella dated a professional snowboarder

A few months before participating in the 2006 WWE Diva Search, Nikki Bella started dating a professional snowboarder.

The WWE Hall of Famer revealed some details about their relationship in The Bella Twins' book Incomparable:

"I was in a relationship black hole with a pro snowboarder. It was a period of extreme jealousy and codependence, and I was spending a lot of time with him in Salt Lake City, where he lived near his ex-wife and kids. We traveled a lot for his snowboarding, and our existence in general revolved around him and his career," she wrote.

When Nikki's boyfriend agreed to spend time with her in San Diego, she moved back to finish community college. She also led her college's soccer team to win a state championship and became California's MVP. Nikki's coach then urged her to travel to Italy to pursue a professional career.

However, the WWE Hall of Famer and her sister, Brie, received an opportunity to participate in the Diva Search competition at the same time, which changed Nikki's plan:

"My boyfriend (...) completely flipped out about the idea of me working around men who were dressed in little more than underwear. It was silly. I’m not a cheater, and I certainly know how to handle myself around guys, even those who are scantily clad—but he was consumed with jealousy. There was no way I was not going, though—in fact, the more someone tells me no, the more my response is 'Sc*** you!' Our relationship lasted only a few more short and horrible months," she added.

The Bella Twins ended up participating in the WWE Divas Search competition. Although they did not win, WWE signed them.

#5. WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella dated Richie Kotzen

Guitarist Richie Kotzen was another man Brie Bella started dating before joining WWE. The former Divas Champion met him a few years before she kicked off her pro wrestling career.

In The Bella Twins' book Incomparable, Brie mentioned dating a guitarist. Nonetheless, she referred to him as Craig.

"I landed a job as a waitress at Sushiya, on Sunset. A lot of celebrities and Hollywood types would come in, which is how I met Craig. He was the guitarist for a rock band, who I went on to date for five-and-a-half years," she wrote.

During her relationship with the guitarist, Brie received an offer to join WWE. She disclosed that her then-boyfriend was hurt and shocked when she told him that she was taking a job as a professional wrestler and moving to Florida. However, he helped her pack and promised to visit her.

In the following years, Brie and her boyfriend's relationship declined. They broke up nearly three years after the younger Bella joined WWE. The Hall of Famer discussed the reasons for their breakup in her book.

Among the reasons was a 14-year age gap, living apart in different states, and the guitarist not wanting to get married and have kids other than his daughter from a previous relationship.


#4. Nikki Bella dated WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler

During her early days in WWE, Nikki Bella dated her colleague Dolph Ziggler. The couple started their relationship around 2008. According to E! Online, they first met while they were both at WWE's former developmental brand FCW.

In The Bella Twins' book Incomparable, Nikki mentioned having a relationship with a wrestler she referred to as Brad. Nonetheless, some believe she was talking about Ziggler:

"Our relationship was casual, and I certainly had no claims on him, but it drove me crazy anyway. It was the first time that I had been with a guy who wasn’t clamoring to lock me down. It drove me batshit crazy. It made me obsessed with him. The problem with that sort of imbalance is that it never really gives you a chance to assess the relationship, or your compatibility, on stable ground. You spend so much energy trying to get something that you think you want, that is just a little out of reach, that you don’t have a chance to actually judge whether you want the thing in the first place," she wrote.

The WWE Hall of Famer disclosed that she ended her relationship with "Brad" a few years later, after discovering that he cheated on her with another wrestler. Despite their breakup, the two WWE Superstars remained friends. Nikki stated that she still enjoys talking to him.

During an episode of Total Divas a few years ago, Ziggler tried to win Nikki back. The former Divas Champion was dating John Cena at the time. However, Ziggler told her that he still had feelings for her.

The former World Heavyweight Champion offered to marry her and give her kids. He then tried to kiss her, but she recoiled. This backstage moment aired on an episode of Total Divas.

#3. WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella married Bryan Danielson (FKA Daniel Bryan)

Brie Bella first met Byran Danielson in 2010. They were both WWE Superstars at the time. The former Divas Champion disclosed many details about their relationship in The Bella Twins' book Incomparable:

"Before we were ever in a storyline together, we talked for the first time at the baggage claim in New York City. I had just moved to the city, and it was clear that he had no clue which Bella I was (...) A few months later, they developed a storyline for me and Nicole where we were both in hot pursuit of him," she wrote.

Brie explained in her book that she was never interested in dating WWE Superstars despite being friends with many of them. She also stated that Danielson was not her type.

Nevertheless, everything changed when Brie and Danielson worked together and chatted before and after matches. The two wrestlers discovered that they had a lot in common.

The couple then dated for a few years. The current AEW star proposed to Brie in September 2013 while on a hike together. They tied the knot in April 2014. They now have two children together.


#2. Nikki Bella was engaged to WWE legend John Cena

Nikki Bella and John Cena started dating in 2012. In an interview with TribLive Radio, the WWE Hall of Famer disclosed that they had been friends for many years before they kicked off their romantic relationship:

"It just kind of started out like a dinner date, and I have to admit, we were friends for so many years, but then when you make it romantic, I couldn’t even say a word to him," she said.

The former Divas Champion then moved in with the 16-time World Champion after signing a 75-page agreement. The couple's life was featured heavily on WWE's reality show Total Divas. On the show, it was clear how Nikki and Cena had different opinions about marriage and kids. While the WWE Hall of Famer wanted to tie the knot with Cena and have children, he did not.

Despite this, Cena changed his mind about marriage in 2017. He proposed to Nikki inside the ring at WrestleMania 33. The couple got engaged and were set to get married on May 5, 2018. However, Nikki and Cena broke up nearly a month before the wedding. They later briefly reconciled and split for good in July 2018.

The former Divas Champion later revealed that she never wanted Cena to regret having kids with her.

#1. WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella is engaged to Artim Chigvintsev

Nikki Bella and dancer Artim Chigvinstev first met when the WWE Hall of Famer participated in the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars in 2017. The two were dance partners who got eliminated in the seventh week.

When Nikki competed in Dancing with the Stars, she was still with Cena. At the time, the 16-time World Champion even said that Chigvintsev could be the one to choreograph his first dance with Nikki at their wedding. However, the couple broke up a few months later.

In early 2019, several sources stated that Nikki and her former dance partner were in a relationship. In March that same year, Nikki confirmed these rumors on an episode of Total Bellas.

After dating for nearly a year, the couple announced their engagement in January 2020. A few days later, the former Divas Champion revealed that they were expecting their first baby. She gave birth to her first boy, Matteo, on July 31, 2020.

The WWE Hall of Famer and Chigvinstev will get married on Thanksgiving, four days from today.

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Edited by Arjun Kumar
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