Nikki Bella isn't rushing to enter the ring that is marriage.
Though the former WWE star has been happily engaged to Artem Chigvintsev since Nov. 2019, she explained during E! News Daily Pop on Feb. 28 that her outlook on marriage changed after she and the Dancing With the Stars pro welcomed their first child together, son Matteo, 18 months ago.
"Once I had Matteo and I started to raise him, I was like, when I say 'I do,' I want to make sure it's forever," Nikki exclusively shared. "I know there are things that Artem wants too—like he really wants his parents there—but also, overall, I don't want my son to go through a divorce."
There's also her past and "everything I've been through" to consider, especially since so much of her life has been "very public," Nikki noted. And while she didn't go into detail, she's previously been open about the fact that she married her high school sweetheart at the age of 20. Then, years later, she got engaged to John Cena only for the two to eventually split and call off the wedding in 2018.
With all that in mind, she and Artem simply want to make sure getting married is "absolutely" what they want to do. Plus, as Nikki pointed out, they're definitely happy with their current arrangement. "Already what we have going on in our house right now is amazing," Nikki said. "It's pretty much like a married life."
At the end of the day, Nikki said she just "really wanted to be with someone who was going to be an amazing father, and Artem is that."
They both have thriving careers, too. Artem recently returned to the Dancing With the Stars tour after battling pneumonia, and Nikki's now a judge on America's Got Talent: Extreme, where she watches contestants do everything from flip over speeding cars to launch themselves from cannons. "I let people beat me up for over 15 years," she said on Daily Pop, "so I just have something inside of me that I just enjoy that."
The two-time WWE Divas Champion is on a panel alongside Travis Pastrana and Simon Cowell. Together, they're on the hunt for the some of the most outrageous and jaw-dropping acts too big to fit on a stage and exciting enough to produce an adrenaline rush, which Nikki said she loves.
"I thrive on that," she added. "That's what's so great about our show."
That, and the contestants' willingness to push the envelope. Aaron Evans, who can be seen in Daily Pop's AGT: Extreme sneak peek, is a prime example as Nikki revealed that instead of receiving any formal training for jumping over cars, he simply "started off doing parkour."
"He just says, 'You go out there and try it. You just take that chance,'" Nikki explained. "That's when you know the contestants on our show, they're just born with something special. That's why they're so fun to watch every Monday night."
After all, these types of skill are hard to teach—and even if they can be imparted, "you can't teach someone the will, the bravery, the courage" that's required to performs such dangerous stunts," Nikki added.
Hear more from the Total Bellas star in the above Daily Pop interview.
America's Got Talent: Extreme airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)