Nikki Bella Reveals Why She Almost Broke Up With Artem Chigvintsev After John Cena Split

Pregnant Nikki Bella has revealed that she and her fiance Artem Chigvintsev almost didn’t go the distance after they started dating early last year in the wake of their meeting on Season 25 of Dancing with the Stars. The WWE star got very candid about her roller-coaster romance with Artem on the May 27 episode of her and sister Brie Bella’s podcast, The Bellas Podcast. She recalled how she wasn’t sure about getting into a serious relationship and even considered breaking up with him for a while.

Nikki got very candid during the chat as she recalled that she fell in love with Artem pretty fast. The twosome originally met in 2017 when they were partnered together on the ABC talent competition. At the time, Nikki was engaged and planning a wedding with her former fiance and fellow WWE star John Cena, but the two called off their wedding in April 2018 after six years together. The Total Bellas and Total Divas star was first romantically linked to Artem nine months later in January 2019.

“There were certain things I was struggling with because I was still in the process of healing, but yet I was falling in love so fast with this man,” Nikki recalled, per Hollywood Life.

She then opened up about the conversation she and Artem had early on where she was very open and honest about the fact that she was still going through a lot that may have affected their relationship.

“I had that conversation with Artem. I told him, ‘Look, I have good days and I have bad days and I am trying to heal, but I don’t want to lose you. But if you want to put up with what I’m going through and stay by my side, do it,'” she said.

Nikki — who recently opened up about a “heart scare” they had with their unborn child on another episode of the podcast — then revealed how she gave the professional dancer the chance to leave if he wanted to with the possibility of them dating again once she was in a better head space.

“If you want to walk away and we come back to this relationship down the road, I 100 percent understand.”

But, fortunately, the DWTS pro stood by Nikki’s side and the couple didn’t break up.

According to Nikki, Artem told her, “look, I know you’re going through stuff. You’re healing. I want to be here to support you.”

During the candid podcast chat with her sister Brie, who’s also expecting, Nikki then went on to open up about how falling in love can happen more instantly with some couples and can take a little more time with others. She suggested that she’d become “wishy-washy” because she was still “fighting so many emotions” at the start of her and Artem’s romance.

Despite a couple of bumps in the road, Nikki and Artem have never seemed happier. They’re currently expecting their first child together this summer.