Nikki Bella says she is not dating much after her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev, and she is not pretending otherwise. The 42-year-old wrestling star said she is “pretty much like a nun at this point” and “super celibate,” adding that she should “just put on a ring.”
Her comments land now because Bella is also stepping back into the ring after recovering from an ankle injury. In a YouTube video posted July 31, she said the timing feels strange in the best way: some nights are for staying home and living normally, and then the next day she is headed to Smackdown for what she called an “epic comeback.”
That makes this more than a passing dating update. Bella and Chigvintsev divorced in November 2024, and the two share a five-year-old son, Matteo. Her sister Brie Bella said Matteo is “her world right now” and that Nikki has little time between being on the road, the wine company, the podcast and her son. Brie also said her sister, if given a free night, would rather “Netflix and chill” than dress up for a date.
Still, Bella did not present herself as someone who has shut the door forever. She said she wishes she were “out there getting wild,” but followed that by saying she simply does not have the energy for it. That is the tension in her answer: the impulse to move on is there, yet the demands of work, motherhood and a return to wrestling keep pulling her back toward quiet nights in.
For now, the clearer next step is the ring, not romance. Bella is set to wrestle with Brie Bella and Paige against Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne and Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence at SummerSlam, the two-night event that streams live on Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2, at 6 ET on the App with an Unlimited plan and on Netflix internationally. Whether Bella looks for a new relationship after that comeback is still an open question, but her own words make her current priority plain.
