'I want a really big bash, and I want to do it right,' the 'Total Bellas' star tells ET.
Nikki Bella can't wait to marry Artem Chigvintsev, but it may be a while until they officially say "I do."
While speaking to ET via Zoom, the 37-year-old Total Bellas star detailed her dream nuptials, and explained why she and her fiancé are currently putting wedding planning on hold. Nikki previously said during an episode of The Bellas Podcast that she and the 38-year-old Dancing With the Stars pro were hoping to tie the knot in fall 2021. The two share one child together, 10-month-old son Matteo.
"So Artem and I, the other night, we sat on the couch and we talked about this. I was like, 'Do you want to start planning now?'" Nikki told ET's Deidre Behar, revealing that they have called a few venues. "We'd love it to be in the fall and a few of the venues were like, 'We're available.'"
"And what we just started saying is, 'We're so busy every day, and we completely remodeled the inside of her home," she continued. "We haven't even lived in it yet and we're doing the outside and that takes so much work. We're still not even done designing. And so he and I both were just like, 'Let's get through the house. If it happens, it happens.'"
Nikki admitted that it's also been "hard" discussing wedding plans with her family.
"My Nana's like, 'Just go do something small,' but I want a really big bash, and I want to do it right," she shared. "I want it to be where it's a fun experience and a journey, where it's just a lot of fun. Maybe we're making trips to New York for dresses!"
"I feel like if I was to do it right now, and try to get the fall that I want right now, it would just be cramming," she continued. "It wouldn't be fun, it would be just to get it done. So as of now, we have no plans, no day."
When the perfect time does come around, however, Nikki already has some ideas for her "dream wedding."
"Napa Valley, for sure, and in the fall because the leaves change and we could be a little crispy cold," the wine-loving WWE star exclaimed. "Champagne towers, black tie events, and obviously we'd have the greatest food ever 'cause we're here in Napa Valley."
"I'd have amazing wine and just think of the decor you get to bring in... the most beautiful reds and deep dark reds," she added. "I just have this whole vision."
During another portion of the interview, Nikki also opened up about her son's upcoming birthday, and what this first year of motherhood has been like for her and her family.
"It has been the most incredible journey so far of my entire life," she gushed. "These past 10 months I've been my happiest, I have learned so much. I've also have had probably more breakdowns because mom guilt is real and you want to be so perfect."
"But when Matteo says, like, 'Mom' or 'Mama,' and the love he gives me, I'm like, 'This is living. This is the life,'" she continued. "It's been so incredible and you become so selfless. It is really crazy. Everything that I used to be so worried about, that doesn't even matter anymore, he does. I wake up and I think of him and I go to bed and I think of him. And life has changed so much for me."
In addition to her mini mommy breakdowns -- "like when Matteo cuts his finger, or I put him to bed too late" -- Nikki told ET that she also struggles with how much of her son's life she should share on social media, or on her and her twin sister Brie Bella's reality show, Total Bellas.
"When I post a photo of Matteo on my Instagram, I always get a guilty feeling," she confessed. "I always go to Artem and I'm like, 'Was that OK? Should I not have done that? And I think it's because he doesn't get that say, right?"
"I told Brie that I can maybe do a few more seasons of reality TV, but I just can't raise my son in front of the cameras," she added. "I just don't want him one day to look at me and be like, 'You never gave me that choice. You put my life out there and you didn't let me have a say.' I want him to have a normal upbringing and ... whatever he wants to be, I want him to be. I don't want it to ever feel like, 'Well, this is the life you just handed me.'"
Of course, one thing Nikki and Artem could give Matteo is a little brother or sister. ET spoke with Nikki about whether they have plans to expand their family.
"Artem really wants to expand, but I'm just so content," she shared. "I am very driven in my career. I love being a career woman and I love to travel, and I love the fact that I've gotten to experience the miracle of life. I just feel very content at my age. I'm good with Matteo. Now, his father on the other hand, would love another one, but, yeah, I don't know. Only time can tell, but right now I feel like I'm a one and done. So we'll see."
For now, Nikki is just staying focused on raising Matteo, and getting ready for the launch of her and Brie's new collab collection with baby brand Colugo.
"Nikki and I are very fashionable, we love fashion and we love being with our kids all the time," Brie told ET. "So we wanted to collaborate with Colugo because we're obsessed with them, to have this line that goes with our fashion. It's who we are, of course we had to have the Wine Red and it's part of our lives now. It was organic for us to be in the baby world."
"Everything that we are giving to everyone is what we all use in our lives every day," added Nikki. "It's fun to share that with people. When you realize, wow, this really works, I want to share it with our Bella army. Hey, moms, dads, this is actually an amazing product that we love."
Hear more in the video below.
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