Nikki Bella Explains Why She Wore John Cena Wedding Dress to Marry Artem Chigvintsev

01/25/2023 05:23 pm EST

Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev got married in August, and their marriage journey will be featured in a new television special Nikki Bella Says I Do. And when speaking to Us Weekly about the show, Bella revealed that she wore the wedding dress that she was going to wear to marry John Cena before they called things off. 

"I had the moment with that dress … when I saw it," Bella said.  "It was all something that I dreamed of." Bella, 39 went on tell Us Weekly that the dress gave her a sense of "empowerment" even when things didn't work out with Cena. "I went back and forth with that decision," the WWE Hall of Famer continued. "For me, it [reflects] how I stand as a strong woman, I was like wait, why should I not wear what I love? Because of my past? It just didn't make sense to me."

Twin sister Brie Bella didn't agree with the decision, but Chigvintsev was "cool about it." Nikki Bella said that her husband "looks at it as just a material thing. He probably wanted me to save money but then didn't realize I bought a few other dresses after." 

Bella and Cena broke up in 2018 after being engaged for six years. She began dating Chigvintsev in 2019 after meeting while working on Season 25 of Dancing with the Stars in 2017. The couple got married two years after they welcomed their first child together — Matteo. The wedding happened in Paris France, and they made the decision to marry there after delaying the nuptials due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bella and Chigvintsev originally were going to get married in California. 

"Artem and I went to Paris on a secret vacation when we were first dating and didn't want the world to know we were a couple yet. After that, we always said, 'Run away to Paris with me,'" Bella said in an interview with Brides in October. "It's always held a special place in our hearts, and when Napa wasn't working out, we were like, 'We just need to run away to Paris. Let's make it work.' It was literally a fairy-tale ending." Nikki Bella says I Do premieres on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on E!. 

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