Nikki Bella Says She Is Retiring From WWE

Nikki Bella has just announced that she is retiring from the WWE.

“I just feel like I’m too old for that travel,” Bella revealed to her family on her E! reality show, “Total Bellas.” “So I realized like, why am I doing this — I don’t feel good. I really am ready to hang up the jersey. Like, I can say it fully.”

However, though Bella seemed adamant in the episode, TMZ reported that she could return to the ring for the occasional cameo appearance on WWE.

Bella, who has been performing in the WWE since June 2007, is best known for her partnership with her twin Brianna, or Brie Bella. The pair competed as the Bella Twins and famously took on star rivals such as Victoria. The Bella Twins quickly became fan-favorites, winning the Teen Choice award for Choice Female Athlete in 2016.

And, just last month, Nikki won Best Actress in a Reality Series from Women’s Image Network Awards for her work on “Total Bellas.”

Now that Nikki is hanging up her jersey, she can focus on her other business ventures, including her activewear company Birdiebee and her wine company, Belle Radici, both of which she runs with her twin, Brie. Wine seems to be both a business and a passion for her; in many of her Instagram posts, she has a glass of wine in hand (or in this one, a bottle):

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvc7uwPhpqn/

The news of Nikki’s retirement from the WWE comes on the heels of her recent breakup with fellow WWE superstar John Cena. The pair recently canceled their destination wedding after years of dating and living together.

On a recent episode of “Total Bellas,” Nikki was frank about the fact that she has been out of the dating scene for a long time, saying she has not kissed a man other than Cena for 9 years.

Some people doubted the breakup, wondering if Nikki and John split just to garner ratings for “Total Bellas” or to amplify their public personas. However, Nikki is quick to say that is simply not the case.

“When everyone was saying what I was going through was fake for ratings and all that, and when you’re really going through it, it’s like, you’re just, in my heartache you’re literally just knifing it and just churning it,” Nikki told Cosmopolitan about the breakup. “We’re both at the point that we just don’t want to be talked about at all together anymore. We don’t want our breakup to define us or interfere with our work.”

The good news is that Nikki appears to have found love again, this time with her “Dancing With the Stars” partner, Artem Chigvintsev, as she posted on Instagram. Here’s hoping they spend many years tangoing together.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvah29rBgjh/

You can watch episodes of “Total Bellas” on E! or on Hulu.