Nikki Bella insists she had no 'feelings' for DWTS partner Artem Chigvintsev while engaged to ex John Cena
Nikki Bella is sure there were no sparks with her ‘DWTS’ pro partner Artem Chigvintsev during the competition, as she was still with ex John Cena at the time. Nonetheless, the duo is now engaged and have a baby together.
In 2017, John was a supportive fiance when Nikki competed on Season 25 of “Dancing With the Stars” with pro-partner Artem Chigvintsev. And while Nikki is now engaged to Artem and have a baby boy together, she maintains she wasn't attracted to the 38-year-old dancer when they were competing on the show. Speaking on the October 13 episode of The Bellas podcast with her sister Brie, Nikki and guest Lisa Vanderpump, 60, discussed intimate experiences with their dance partners. Lisa had competed on season 16 of DWTS with Russian dancer Gleb Savchenko, HollywoodLife reported.
“Did you know you were attracted to him? Did you I feel ‘I’m being unfaithful to my fiance?'” Lisa asked Nikki, 36, who responded saying, “That’s the crazy thing being with him (Artem) now, is there were none of those feelings at all.” Lisa broke into laughter, “I don’t believe you. You cannot tell me that when you were dancing with him!”
“I think being an athlete…when I did Dancing it was the first time I was ever vulnerable with a man," Nikki explained. "And that’s where the bond started to touch. I was thinking of the steps the whole time. Where I got the bond was having to depend on him. And I never had to depend on a man before.”
The retired professional wrestler admitted she did feel a bond with Artem as her dancing partner, especially because it was a novel and intimidating experience for her. “You definitely get an emotional bond with them because it’s so scary and you’re so out of your comfort zone…dancing live on TV, being judged in front of the world to see. I’ve never been that nervous, ever,” she said.
Nikki and Lisa also shared notes about the "physicality and sensuality of the moves" they performed with their DWTS partners. “You do get up close and personal with them, I have to say. You have a bond with your dancing partner,” Lisa insisted. However, Nikki didn't seem too comfortable with the idea.
“You know what was weird for me? Cause I was actually engaged at the time and we were together six years at that point. The one thing that was awkward for me was — I don’t know if you remember in some of [the] dance moves — when their leg had to be in between your leg or when their face was close,” Nikki described. “I remember…it was the first time a man’s leg, other than my fiancé’s was in between mine and I was like, ‘Whoa!’ It was weird.”
Nikki and John called off their engagement in April 2018, as the latter didn't want children. Nikki later remembered the connection she had with Artem, and the two began seeing each other in March 2019. The doting couple would get engaged in November that year and welcomed their first child, son Matteo, on July 31, 2020. Meanwhile, John tied knot with girlfriend Shay Shariatzadeh in an October 12 ceremony in Florida after dating for about a year and a half.