Nikki Garcia Teases Possibility Of Falling In Love Again Post-Divorce

While Nikki Garcia is taking her time before stepping back into the dating world, she admits to seeing herself “falling in love again.”

Four months after finalizing her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev, the “Total Bellas” alum and former WWE star shared insights on her life post-divorce and her vision for the future.

Nikki Garcia also let down her walls, explaining how her body insecurities are playing a role in her hesitation to date again.

Despite feeling great overall, she admitted to overanalyzing her “mom bod” when looking in the mirror.

“When I’m naked, you just kind of sadly start to dissect yourself,” she admitted in a new interview with Us Weekly. “What if the person isn’t a dad and doesn’t understand a ‘mom bod’?”

Garcia, who shares 4-year-old son Matteo with Chigvintsev, also expressed concerns about how a potential younger partner might perceive her body. “If I date someone younger, will he think, ‘Oh, she has an older body’?” she wondered, adding that she’s also aware of changes from pregnancy and nursing.

“My boobs kind of sag from nursing,” she said, before adding with determination, “I’m not going to just give that up. I need to be in a good place for [dating]. Mama needs her groove back first for herself.”

While she’s open to falling in love again, Garcia made it clear that she has no intention of getting married again or expanding her family.

“I can definitely see myself falling in love again,” the 41-year-old retired wrestler shared, adding, “I don’t ever want to sign paperwork again. If I find the right person, I don’t mind [a commitment ceremony], but I don’t want to be legally bound.”

Just weeks later, on September 11, Garcia officially filed for divorce, seeking sole legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old son, Matteo, while requesting supervised visitation for Chigvintsev. Additionally, she petitioned to terminate spousal support for both parties.

In a surprising twist, Garcia and Chigvintsev announced in November that they had mutually agreed to drop their domestic violence restraining orders against each other. In a joint statement, they emphasized their shared commitment to co-parenting Matteo in a healthy and respectful way.

The former couple ultimately reached a divorce settlement through mediation, signaling a step toward closure.

“I disconnected from social media, from the world, and I just knew that I needed to disconnect because first things first, I’m a mom, and my son’s protection and privacy is the most important. So I was gonna do whatever it took for that most importantly, and then just needing space for healing, for facing trauma head-on, all of that,” Garcia shared.

The emotional toll of the situation weighed heavily on Garcia, who admitted she never expected things to end this way.

“It’s been really tough. I’ve been heartbroken. Sad. You know, you dream of having this family, and you have this incredible love, and it just goes the other way,” she continued. “And you go from having a great love story to having a terrible one. And I never saw any of it coming, you know, as far as, like, what the ending would be.”

As she reflected on the energy she had devoted to fixing others, she encouraged listeners to identify this pattern early on to prevent it from becoming an issue.

“If you’re in that kind of relationship that you are fixing, you need to find your way out,” she said on her podcast. “Because trying to fix someone isn’t going to bring love and happiness and change. You’re honestly, in the end, gonna drain yourself and just bring sadness. And so that hit me really hard, because I definitely am now in that space, and this new era of me in 2025 is no longer fixing. I will lead. I will help. I will support. I will love, but I will not fix.”

With the legal proceedings behind her, Garcia is now focusing on healing, her son, and what’s next for her future. While she has no immediate plans for dating, she remains optimistic about love (on her own terms, of course.)