Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev Are in Couples Therapy Because of How He Speaks to Her

Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev are in couples therapy.

Speaking to Kaitlyn Bristowe on her Off The Vine podcast, the Total Bellas star revealed she and her fiancé are seeing a counsellor over the way he speaks to her.

The subject came up when Bristowe, who has also partnered with Chigvintsev on "Dancing With The Stars", asked: "Did you feel like he hated your guts during the season, or did you guys have, like, a flirty thing?"

Three years before Bristowe and Chigvintsev won season 29's Mirrorball trophy, Nikki — who was at the time dating fellow wrestler John Cena — only managed seventh place with her future baby daddy on season 25... and she had a problem with his tone back then too.

She recalled one incident where he got "super strict" with her in front of the other competitors that resulted in her storming out.

"He kind of made a comment about my jive and got really mad at me," she said. "And I was like 'You know what, dude? J.Lo and Beyoncé don't jive. I don't have time for this.'"

"And I walked out and I got in my car. I remember at the time calling John going like, 'I am quitting. Like, I am not going to stand for this. He is a d---!'"

She added that "when he gets really stressed, he doesn't realize his tone."

"We're actually in therapy for this," she revealed. "I remember, like, even during dress rehearsals sometimes, I'd be like, 'Is he mad at me?' It'd make me feel really off. And it'd just be his tone."

Bristowe was relieved to hear she wasn't the only one.

"I'm glad because I was like, maybe he just didn't like me at all as a person," she said. "Because I've heard all the dancers are like that — very strict, that's kind of how they grew up in their world of dancing, that's how they were taught. And Artem even said to me, 'I don't want to use Russia as an excuse, but I'm Russian.'"

Nikki and Artem, who share five-month-old son Matteo, celebrated one year of engagement earlier this month.