Nikki Garcia (formerly known as Nikki Bella) is looking ahead to future romantic partners following her split from Artem Chigvintsev.
The WWE alum, 41, told twin sister Brie Garcia (formerly Brie Bella) and guest Rocsi Diaz that she wasn’t interested in dating a younger man on “The Nikki & Brie Show” podcast on Monday, February 17.
“Do we want to train?” Nikki said. “I wanted to be owned. I don’t wanna be trained. I want my body rocked.”
The Total Bellas alum began to wonder where the older men were at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on February 9.
“Where’s the retired ones? The ones that have some wisdom and age?” she continued. Rocsi, 43, added, “You can see them. They’re around. They’re here somewhere.”
Explaining why she wanted an older man, Nikki said that they have “experienced life a little bit.” However, Brie, 41, and their podcast guest encouraged the former pro wrestler to “have fun with a young one.”
“You’re right. No. I’ll just do it all. Do young. I’ll do retired,” Nikki concluded.
It seems Nikki is opening herself up to new possibilities after previously expressing hesitation about dating following her divorce from Artem, 42, which was finalized in November 2024. Two days before the 2025 Super Bowl, Brie explained to People that the sporting event would be a milestone for her sister.
“I’m like, ‘Nicole, this is your first time being single at Super Bowl,’” she said. However, Nikki quickly cut her off and chimed in, “Girl, I’m still healing, please.” She added that it seemed like Brie was “more excited” about the idea of Nikki dating than Nikki was.
“Listen, I’m in an amazing marriage. We’ve been married 10 years, together for 14, and I’m like, ‘I get to have some fun through you now!’” Brie joked.
With that said, Nikki did admit that there were “a lot” of good-looking men in New Orleans.
The dating discussions came five months after Nikki filed for divorce from Artem in Napa Valley, California, in September 2024, Life & Style confirmed at the time via online records. She submitted the paperwork weeks after Artem’s August 2024 arrest on domestic violence charges. Though the charges were later dropped on September 24, 2024, Nikki filed for a restraining order against Artem one week later.
In the restraining order paperwork, Nikki claimed that Artem “tackled me multiple times and pinned me to the ground” while their son, Matteo, 4, was present, TMZ reported.
Artem requested a “domestic violence restraining order” in response to Nikki’s request.
“She is the one with the temper. I try to stay quiet and avoid it. She yells, and on August 29 was yelling, pursuing me, and was the one who attacked me,” he claimed in court paperwork obtained by Daily Mail.
Nikki and Artem were granted joint custody of Matteo in October 2024. Weeks later, the pair opted to drop their restraining orders against each other “in an effort to move on with their lives and effectively co-parent their son,” Nikki’s rep told E! News. The former couple settled their divorce in November 2024, although the details of the settlement were not revealed.
