Not afraid to get real. Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev haven’t shied away from getting candid about their romance over the years.
The former WWE star and the dancer made their relationship official in January 2019 after meeting on the set of Dancing With the Stars. The Russia native served as Bella’s partner in season 25 of the ABC series, which aired in 2017. At the time, the Confessions of a Womanizer actress was engaged to John Cena. Bella and and Chigvintsev finished the season in seventh place.
After going public with their romance, the Total Bellas alum admitted that the twosome weren’t yet exclusive. “There’s been a lot of speculation about us … but I’m still dating [other people],” she explained on an episode of “The Bellas Podcast” in March 2019. “We’re having fun. He’s showing me L.A.”
Four months later, Chigvintsev confirmed that the duo were officially calling each other “boyfriend and girlfriend” after more than half a year without labels. “We’re in a relationship!” he gushed during an appearance on “The Bellas Podcast.”
In January 2020, the couple announced their engagement, revealing that it had actually taken place in November 2019. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me,” the DTWS pro wrote via Instagram at the time. “So excited for what’s to come I love you more then [sic] anything and thank you for saying Yes.”
Shortly after they broke their engagement news, Us Weekly confirmed that the pair were expecting their first child together. The California native and the Strictly Come Dancing alum welcomed son Matteo in July 2020.
The Total Divas alum later opened up about her struggle with postpartum depression after the little one’s birth. “I’ve always prided myself that I can fight a lot of things mentally,” she explained during an episode of “The Bellas Podcast” in September 2020. “I’m very strong in that way. Postpartum has knocked me on my ass. This is something that is way different.”
Bella admitted that one of the things that suffered the most during her depression was her relationship with Chigvintsev. “He’s like, ‘At times, I felt like you were starting to hate me,’” she recalled at the time. “He’s like, ‘You could be mean.’ And I’m not gonna lie, I did have moments of being mean. I did have moments when I looked at him and I hated him. It’s true. There were times I’d look at him and I’m like, ‘I think I hate you.’”
In 2021, the former wrestler revealed that she and her fiancé had been going to couples therapy — and it made a massive difference in their lives.
“It’s helped us tremendously,” the reality star exclusively told Us in March of that year. “We don’t even have to keep going because it’s — I mean, it’s good to always have checkups — but all of a sudden, our sessions turned into, like, you just sit there. You’re like, ‘Oh, I’m really loving right now. Like, there’s no problems.’ It’s like we didn’t know what to talk about.”
Keep scrolling for Bella and Chigvintsev’s most candid quotes about their relationship: