5 Times Nikki & Brie Bella Were Inseparable
Happy (early) birthday to the Bella Twins!
Brie Bella and Nikki Bella are turning 37 this Saturday, Nov. 21, but the celebrations were already underway on the latest episode of The Bellas Podcast.
Kicking off the special iteration was a sweet message from Brie’s husband Daniel Bryan (born Bryan Danielson) and their three-year-old daughter Birdie Joe Danielson, who adorably declared, “I love you momma!”
She also showed Nikki, a.k.a “Aunt Coco,” which Birdie pronounces “Dodo,” some love, as did Bryan: “I love you Brie, and happy birthday Nicole!”
Nikki’s fiancé Artem Chigvintsev joined in on the fun, too.
“This message is for the love of my life,” he said toward the end of the episode. “Nicole, I love you so, so much. You have no idea. You make me a better person, a better man. And this is your first birthday as a mom, and I just want to say you exceeded every single expectation out there…people have no idea how much effort you put into Matteo and into our relationship. And Matteo and I could not be happier.”
Artem continued, “So I just want to say, again, happy birthday to you! I wish you lots of success and happiness, but most importantly health so we can celebrate many, many more birthdays together. And I love you, I love you, I love you.”
Nikki was smitten after hearing the heartfelt message, telling Brie she planned to on “spider monkey jumping him to the ground” once they were done recording the podcast.
But first, Nikki had a few things to clear up!
See everything the Total Bellas star opened up about below.
ABC
Dancing With the Stars drama
Up first was the comments she made while weighing in on the Dancing With the Stars drama stemming from Artem and his celebrity partner Kaitlyn Bristowe speaking out about judge Carrie Ann Inaba‘s harsh critiques of their dances.
Many viewers sided with the duo, and some even started to leave cruel comments on Carrie Ann’s Instagram. Nikki, however, said on Daily Pop that she thought Artem and Kaitlyn “were being a little out of line” and that she was “team Carrie Ann.”
On where she was coming from:
“In almost all of Brie and I’s interviews this past week, I got asked about the Carrie Ann drama with Artem and Kaitlyn,” Nikki explained on the podcast. “And I guess because this whole situation now has turned [into] that because Carrie Ann and Artem dated in the past, that’s why she’s hard on Kaitlyn—which, I don’t know, I just found that humorous.”
Nikki continued to explain her way of thinking: “I was raised with tough love. I’ve been an athlete my whole life, so I’ve always been coached. I’ve been critiqued. I’ve been coached in a way where, like, you can do better…so even when I did Dancing With the Stars, they were really tough on me at times and I didn’t always get great scores but I never took it personal.”
“Artem and I had a conversation about it,” she added. “I just said, in my head, you’re choosing to be a pro on a competition show and you just know that whatever dance you’re going to do, they’re going to hold a paddle from 1 to 10 and they’re going to give you constructive criticism after it. It doesn’t mean I agree with everything Carrie Ann said. And so I want to clear that up.”
Ultimately, Nikki “truly believes Carrie Ann was hard on [Kaitlyn and Artem] because she knew there was more. And we saw that last week; They got three 10s.”
Bella Twins Are “Team Carrie Ann Inaba” and Talk Baby Boys
On claims she didn’t stick up for Artem:
“For the women who thought I should have my man’s back, I would take a bullet for that man. I love that man,” Nikki said. “And we both have chosen to be in the reality world…so when you all said if it isn’t good, I shouldn’t talk about it—no. I talk about the good, the bad, the ugly, and by the way, there was no bad in that.”
Artem actually wound up agreeing with Nikki, she revealed.
“He even made a video to post on social media to apologize to Carrie Ann and we both felt like, okay, maybe that’s too much,” Nikki added “Artem has the biggest heart and he was feeling bad for Carrie Ann with all the bad comments she was getting on her Instagram, ’cause at the end of the day no one wants to be dragged.”
In conclusion:
“So I just want to go back…I really love Kaitlyn,” Nikki expressed. “Kaitlyn is an amazing person—let’s take dancing aside—she’s an awesome person…So it makes me feel bad if I came off in a different way ’cause I don’t want that.”
Nikki then noted that she genuinely thinks Artem and Kaitlyn have what it takes to win DWTS, and as a teaser, revealed that the pair, along with Carrie Ann, “all filmed together today.”
“You guys, I get the tea on this stuff,” Nikki said. “They filmed today and it’s airing Monday…Artem didn’t even tell me, I have to turn in.”
Speculation About John Cena
Nikki recently revealed that her ex-fiancé John Cena reached out to congratulate her after she gave birth to Matteo.
However, the innocent piece of information has since spun out of control, and now, Nikki wants the media to “just stop with the John questions,” especially when it’s made to seem like she brings him up.
“This is a thing I want to make very clear…We do not talk. We do not text,” Nikki explained. “Yes, he congratulated my sister and I on a group text with our babies ’cause he’s a gentleman. There was nothing more than just a ‘Congratulations on your baby boys!’ Nothing else there.”
“He is so happy in his relationship. I’m so happy in mine,” she continued. “We haven’t had a personal conversation in years, I want to say. So I just wish it would stop.”
Nikki Bella Gets Honest About Postpartum Body
Nikki’s Comments About Therapy With Artem
Nikki has been open about her struggles with postpartum depression, and in the past, she’s discussed the possibility of going to therapy with Artem in an attempt to better understand what she’s going through.
But as Nikki explained on the podcast, “people turned that into, because Artem’s doing Dancing With the Stars, right when it ends, I’m making us go to therapy.”
“I mean, how embarrassing,” Nikki remarked. “I’m like, oh my gosh, no no no. Everyone, it deals with postpartum depression and being postpartum [and] to understand each other as parents.”
And the only reason the couple is waiting until after DWTS wraps should be obvious: They’ll have a much easier time scheduling things!
To hear more about everything happening in Nikki and Brie’s lives, listen to the complete episode of The Bellas Podcast here.
Watch a brand new episode of Total Bellas Thursdays at 9 p.m., only on E!
