'I really want to take our time being engaged, and just soak it in,' she says.
Nikki Bella is sharing all the sweet details about her recent engagement to Artem Chigvintsev!
In an all-new episode of The Bellas Podcast, the 36-year-old former WWE star opens up about the proposal in France in November, her stunning ring, wedding plans and more while chatting with her twin sister, Brie Bella.
"I will admit, it was very shocking, because Artem and I, we've been together for a year," Nikki says. "It was very beautiful. Our families were there, and here we're in France, in a castle, it's my birthday, and Artem proposed. Total Bellas was filming, and I think that's why I didn't see it coming, because I was like, 'There is no way he will do it while we're filming.' Well, he did."
"But Artem ... the way he proposed, he was so nervous, which made me so nervous," she continues. "All of a sudden, when I could tell how nervous he was, I got really nervous and in my head, I'm like, 'Oh my god, this isn't a birthday surprise anymore. This guy's about to propose to me.'"
Nikki says that she doesn't want to give "too much away" just yet, but reveals that at one point Artem said, "You've come into my life and you've turned it upside down."
"I remember going, 'Is that a good or a bad thing?' But, like, he was so nervous... you know when your words just lose you?" she jokes. "But what I have to say, Artem and his tux and what he set up, ahh! I can't wait for you guys to see it."
While fans were ecstatic to learn that Artem had popped the question to his former Dancing With the Stars partner, Nikki shares that they won't be walking down the aisle anytime soon.
"I'm super excited, even though everything was really fast. I'm definitely going to take my time getting married," she explains. "That was the one thing I told Artem. I was like, 'I do not want to plan a wedding anytime soon. I really want to take our time being engaged, and just soak it in.'"
"I'm extremely, extremely happy," she adds. "Artem's just taught me that love has no rules; it really doesn't. It's so beautiful when it's like that. When you can just love."
As for that beautiful engagement ring? Nikki says she's "so happy" she's able to wear it now, as it "has been getting sized and also getting the setting fixed."
"You know me, I'm a lover of diamonds, and Artem picked out this gorgeous diamond. It's a very rare diamond," she says. "I really love the shape, it's very classic. But when I was looking at it, I was like, 'I think this could be set a little different.' So the guy was like, 'Wow, your girl has a really good eye. She's actually right about the setting.'"
"I felt like it wasn't showcasing this gorgeous diamond that he picked out," she continues. "It's so beautiful. I just love diamonds that are timeless and classic. If you can imagine it on Grace Kelly's hand, I just think that's so beautiful. And I can imagine that."
Nikki says that once she and Artem actually start planning their nuptials, she wants to have "the wedding of my dreams." However, she's currently going back and forth on whether they should showcase it on TV.
"I want to wait, I don't want to be in a rush," she clarifies. "To tell you the truth, I don't really see us getting married in 2020. Maybe a courthouse thing, and then do something? I don't know."
"I still want to have that big wedding," she adds. "I'd be curious to know what our listeners think. Do I showcase that on TV? Are there things that I should keep private in my life?"
Nikki says she brings this point up because she felt like she let people down when she didn't give fans the "fairy-tale ending" they were expecting when she was previously engaged to John Cena in April 2017. The two broke it off a year later.
"I felt that the first time around. People were very upset at me," she explains. "They were on this journey of something I wanted for six years, and then they didn't get that."
"Artem and I, now we're going to be a family," she adds. "Of course the dream would be to get married in Paris, one dream that I've always had. Two is that I want my Nana at my wedding, and there's no way Nana could travel to Europe, so I think I definitely will keep it here [in America]. There's so many decisions, you guys! Maybe that's what 2020 will be -- it will be the year of deciding what I want to do for my wedding."
As we patiently wait for more details, hear more on Artem and Nikki in the video below.
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