Making it official! Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev are married more than two years after they welcomed their first child together.
“We said I DO, can’t wait to share the entire journey with you all when our four-part special event series, ‘Nikki Bella Says I Do,’ premieres on @eentertainment. #NikkiBellaSaysIDo,” Bella, 38, captioned an Instagram photo on Monday, August 29, of her and Chigvintsev, 40, on their special day in Paris, France.
The pair originally met when they were partners on season 25 of Dancing With the Stars while Bella was still engaged to John Cena. After splitting from the wrestler, 45, Bella moved on with the ballroom pro in January 2019. They announced their engagement the following year and welcomed their son, Matteo, in July 2020.
When the coronavirus pandemic put their wedding on pause, the Total Divas alum opened up about how they were taking the shift in stride.
“It’s going to make — when we do have our wedding — extra special for everyone just because it’s been a long time I’ve seen a lot of people,” she told Us Weekly in June 2021, referring to her move to Napa Valley, California, with twin sister Brie Bella one year prior.
“I have to say that’s one of the most beautiful things about Napa Valley — it’s very easy to escape with your partner somewhere,” the reality star noted. “Like, Artem and I the other day, we just escaped to do a quick wine tasting and we’ll do these little things, like, go on a hike or these little adventures.”
The change of scenery helped their relationship in the long run, Nikki explained at the time.
“For a while, our date nights were on the couch watching The Bachelor, but now they’ve expanded and we’ve just [said,] ‘Let’s go check out so many parts of Napa and Sonoma and all these places,'” she added. “I feel like we’re dating each other again and it feels so great!”
The former pro wrestler was also honest about the obstacles she and her now-husband faced while he worked on DWTS. During the Russia native’s season 30 run with partner Melora Hardin, Nikki discussed the challenges that their long-distance relationship created.
“This is the longest we haven’t seen each other. We went six or seven weeks [apart],” Nikki said during an episode of “The Bellas Podcast” in November 2021. “I got AGT: Extreme … [and] Artem and I both discussed, Teo goes everywhere with mama. That’s where he’s comfortable, that’s where he does best. And, you know, it’s been hard on [Artem] and it’s been hard on me, too, not to have my man in my bed.”
The California native noted that being “raised in different countries” played a role in the communication issues they experienced.
“When you’re away from each other, there’s different time zones. Myself having Matteo and working long hours, I need Artem to check in in ways of like, ‘How are you? how are you doing? How’s Matteo doing? What can I do?'” she added. “Sometimes I feel like the other person, mainly the dads, they get into this [space of thinking] they FaceTimed and that’s great, and they get on the phone and that’s where it ends for them. And it’s just hard when the involvement beyond that isn’t there.”
At the time, Nikki said that counseling and “sexy FaceTimes” helped the duo work through their rough patch.
“We’re actually in a good spot. We were doing a little rocky for a bit,” the WWE Divas champion shared. “[We] had to get back into therapy. You know, distance is really hard. … Now we’re stronger than ever.”
