Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev Plan to Go to Couples Therapy After ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev are doing the work to keep their relationship healthy after a tough period following the birth of son Matteo in July. The Total Bellas star told Us Weekly that she and her fiancé made a pact to go to couples therapy after his stint on Dancing With the Stars to address some new communication issues.

“I would be lying to say, ‘Oh, it’s great.’ It has definitely been a struggle for us,” the former WWE Superstar said of being away from the father of her child. “It’s hard. We have so many ups and downs. It’s been so difficult on our relationship because I need so much from him, but he’s, like, torn between his job that requires so much from him and then us at home.”

Bella experienced postpartum depression after giving birth to Matteo, and revealed that twin sister Brie Bella had to approach Chigvintsev to let him know she was “hiding a lot” of the darkness from him. “I just told him, like, ‘I need more attention from you,’ and that is something we’ve worked on, and that’s gotten better,” Bella said. Communication is a strong point for the couple normally, but it’s been “lacking” lately, the new mom noted.

Looking to repair that part of their relationship, Bella and Chigvintsev agreed to begin couples therapy when he’s no longer competing on this season of the ABC dance show. “It’s with our life coach,” she said. “After Dancing, we’re going to start classes as a couple because we’ve realized that we both feel like we’re not listening to each other. … We finally both just said, like, ‘We need to bring someone in to help us so we don’t get [back] into that place.’”

Chigvinstsev may be busy on the ABC dance floor with partner Kaitlyn Bristowe, but the pro dancer has made sure to give credit to his fiancée for all her hard work. Sharing a photo with his baby boy earlier this month, the new dad wrote, “Before I left this morning. I just can’t get enough of this little man. Nicole you have been so amazing with him every single day honestly so proud of you how natural you are as a mom. I love you both crazy much!” It’s clear Bella appreciated the gesture, writing, “Love you so much Click! Go kill it tonight like every week! We’ll be watching and cheering you on Daddy!”