Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev have been engaged for three years.
The couple, who met when Nikki was competing on Dancing with the Stars and Artem was her pro, have a baby and had put their wedding on hold twice.
The first time was because of COVID-19, and then they worried because the war in Ukraine would affect Artem’s family from attending the wedding.
However, this week, Nikki said they had a wedding date picked out and were working on the venue.
She also said there is nothing wrong with them taking their time before walking down the aisle.
Nikki Bella defends long engagement to Artem
Nikki Bella was at the 2022 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and talked about her wedding plans.
She also talked about the long engagement and the struggles they faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Life is really stressful. We’re barely home together at the same time. There’s a lot more, I don’t want to say important things in life, but a lot more [to focus on],” Nikki said.
She mentioned wanting their son Matteo to go to a private school, “so to spend what private schools cost on florals at our wedding, I’m like, I think I’ll go with education.”
However, Nikki knows that being a public figure means people will always give their opinions about her life, and that bothers her.
“I think being a reality star for seven years, I took people on such a journey that they still have, like, input about my life,” Bella said.
“So at times, I get into that mode where I feel like I have to defend it because I’ll see people say all these things online and make it a negative… I’m like, it’s not a negative.”
Nikki and Artem originally planned on Paris
Nikki and Artem initially planned to get married in the United States, but thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, they felt it might work better to get married in Paris.
“[We’re] looking at Paris right now,” Nikki said. “We feel like it’s the easiest to get his parents there. We’re figuring out dates, so we’ll see, but we’re thinking that Paris would be the perfect place.”
However, there are now new concerns.
Artem’s parents and brother live in Russia, and with the war in Ukraine, there is a chance they might not make it.
Artem even said he is worried he might never see them again.
“The thought of me not being able to see my Mom, Dad and Brother are very real, the thought of my son never be able to be held by my parents are also very real,” Artem said.
Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus. The dancing reality competition series should return in late 2022 to Disney+.