WWE Star Nikki Bella and Former 'Dancing with the Stars' Artem Chigvintsev's Love Story

The intriguing romance between former professional wrestler Nikki Bella and Russian-American dancer Artem Chigvintsev have made some headlines lately.

Artem and Nikki, who met each other in 2017 during Season 25 on “Dancing with the Stars,” have been officially dating since January 2019. However, both of them had long-lasting relationships before.

Nikki Bella and John Cena’s relationship

Nikki, whose real name is Stephanie Nicole Garcia, debuted in the wrestling industry in September 2007. In March this year, she announced her retirement from WWE. It was later revealed that she took that decision due to a cyst found on her brain.

In 2012, she started dating WWE star John Cena. At WrestleMania 33 in April 2017, John proposed to her after their mixed tag-team fight. Even though their wedding was planned for May 2018, the ex-couple called off their engagement in April that year.

Artem Chigvintsev and Giselle Peacock’s romance

In Artem’s case, he was married to ballroom dancer Giselle Peacock from 2004 to 2005. According to Giselle, who met Artem in 2003 and married him only one year later, he left her as soon as he found success.

“He was a sweet, skinny Russian boy when I met him but he became more and more obsessed with fame, success, and money,” she said.

Artem and Nikki’s relationship

When the now-couple met each other on “DWTS,” Nikki and John were still together. The “Trainwreck” actor never saw Artem as a competition as he even supposed that the dancer would create the choreography of his first dance with Nikki at their wedding.

However, Artem and Nikki had a different plan. The first rumors about their romance hit the Internet in January 2019, less than a year after she and John parted ways.

Later that month, she addressed their still-unofficial romance on “Total Bellas,” the reality show that follows the lives of Nikki and her twin sister, Brie.

In it, she admitted to being excited about seeing Artem once again as she was in a relationship the last time she saw him.

Denying dating rumors

In February 2019, Nikki confessed to Us Magazine that she and Artem had “so much chemistry,” but made clear that they were just friends at the moment, clearing up dating rumors.

Finally, the former wrestler opened up about their romance in March 2019, during the season finale of her show. In the episode, Nikki revealed that she felt like a free spirit with a new level of excitement.

She also admitted to being ready to “really explore new things.” Only one day later, she made it Instagram official by uploading a photo kissing Artem.

However, during an episode of the “Bellas Podcast,” she pointed out that she was still dating other people. Even though they were dating, they were not a couple per se.

Making their relationship official

By July 2019, Nikki and Artem made their red-carpet debut at the 2019 Kids Choice Sports Awards. Since the pair were dating without labels, Artem only kissed her on the forehead at the event.

Later that month, Nikki officially said that they were in a relationship, even calling themselves “boyfriend and girlfriend” for the first time on the “Bellas Podcast.”

During a conversation with People, she said that it was “nice” to reveal their relationship to the world as she felt free to show all the PDA she wants.

Nikki also admitted that Artem has wanted to have a child for a long time. However, she is not ready for such a thing yet, so they “are not having kids anywhere in the near future.”

Artem is out of “DWTS”

Unfortunately, things have not been easy for Artem lately as he was cut from the “DWTS” cast for the upcoming season after working in the show for ten years.

One of the most unpleasant aspects of it was that he learned about it a few days before the show made the official announcement on “Good Morning America.”

Talking in Nikki’s podcast, the dancer admitted that “getting let go three days before an announcement, that’s like a punch in the stomach.”

At the moment, the couple is focused on their relationship. In Nikki’s case, she is busy working on “Total Bellas” and the “Bellas Podcast.” Artem’s future, on the other hand, is still unclear.