‘Dancing With the Stars’ Pro Reveals Fears They Had Before Becoming a Parent

Dancing With the Stars

ABC/Eric McCandless

Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Bella welcomed their son, Matteo, last year, and Dancing With the Stars pro Chigvintsev has since opened up about all the fear that he experienced before his son was born.

Chigvintsev and Bella originally planned to get married in 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve changed their plans multiple times.

The couple was planning to get married in Los Angeles, but they’ve since changed their wedding to another location, Bella told Access Hollywood.

“We’re actually moving the wedding from L.A. to somewhere else,” she told the outlet. “Not sure if I am allowed to say where yet, but there’s definitely plans. The only thing we know that we want to make sure is that we don’t have to be wearing masks during the wedding.”


Chigvintsev Said He Was Fearful Before His Son Arrived

The Dancing With the Stars pro opened up on Total Bellas in a clip obtained by Us Weekly, and he talked about how he wasn’t sure he would feel the same type of attachment to his son that Bella already did.

“What I’m nervous about the most is you have a certain attachment to it,” he told Bella in the clip. “I don’t have the same attachment because it’s not within me for nine months.”

He later added, “I’m s***ting myself. I’m sitting in my car thinking, ‘This is it.’ You don’t really get it until you process it. I’m like, ‘The water broke. The water broke? Oh s***.”

Chigvintsev shared a post on January 1 that was a photo of baby Matteo with the caption, “This was definitely the best gift of 2020 along with so many amazing moments which I will post about tomorrow! Happy New Year!”


Bella Reassured Chigvintsev That He Would Be a Good Dad

On the way to the hospital when Bella was in labor, she reassured Chigvintsev about how great of a father he would make.

“You’re gonna be an amazing dad,” she tells him in the promo.

Bella was excited to be a mother and said she couldn’t wait.

“I’m about to push a life out of me,” she shared. “That is crazy. I cannot wait for that. I cannot wait to meet Matteo. Who does he look like? Artem, me, is he a mix? I cannot wait. It’s sinking in as I walk into the hospital, this is the last time it’s gonna be just Artem and I.”

The parents have been in a relationship since 2019 and engaged since 2020 when they also announced they would be starting a family.

Before getting engaged to Chigvintsev, Bella was in a relationship with actor and professional wrestler John Cena. She told People that it was hard to work past the end of that relationship before starting to date Chigvintsev a year later.

“I feel like when you have a love like that, you never fully move on because that person touches your life so much,” she said. “My life coach said it so perfectly. Sometimes these people that are in your life, they’re almost like mothers and you have that attachment because they care for you or they take care of you so much. So when that’s gone, you romanticize and you get these feelings that come up.”

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