A former Women’s champion eventually retired from in-ring competition due to the heat she got for dating a top superstar. Meanwhile, another former Divas Champion confessed that dating a top wrestler made her life harder.

Here are five real-life romances that have reportedly generated backstage heat in WWE.

#5. WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker and Michelle McCool

Two years after joining Vince McMahon’s company in 2004, Michelle McCool and her first husband, Jeremy Alexander, divorced. In 2007, The Undertaker and his second wife, Sara Frank, also split. Later that same year, The Deadman and the former Women’s Champion started dating.

In an interview with Chasing Glory, McCool disclosed that she and The Undertaker initially tried to hide their relationship:

However, things quickly changed for McCool backstage when her romance with The Deadman came to light.

The former Women’s Champion got a lot of heat backstage as several co-workers believed she was getting opportunities only because of her relationship with The Undertaker. Due to this, the 42-year-old decided to leave WWE and hang up her boots in 2011.

A year before her retirement, McCool married The Undertaker. They now have a daughter together.

#4. WWE EVP Triple H and CBO Stephanie McMahon

While working together on a storyline in 1999, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon developed feelings for each other. The couple started dating in 2000. However, not everyone in the WWE locker room was thrilled about their romantic relationship.

In his book “Making the Game: Triple H’s Approach to a Better Body,” the 52-year-old revealed that he got a lot of heat backstage when he started dating The Chairman’s daughter:

The Game also disclosed that some people tried to destroy his relationship with The Billion Dollar Princess. However, they failed.

Stephanie McMahon and Triple H have been married since 2003. They now have three daughters.

#3. John Cena and WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella

In 2012, John Cena started dating Nikki Bella. Two years later, a report suggested the WWE locker room had some resentment towards the former Divas Champion as her co-workers felt she had let fame get to her head.

The same report also claimed that the former Divas Champion constantly bragged about the expensive things Cena bought her, which her colleagues viewed as crass and tacky.

After Carmella accused Bella of using her connection to Cena to advance her career on SmackDown, Nikki spoke about getting real-life backstage heat for dating the 16-time World Champion in an interview with Digital Spy in 2016.

She stated that she had heard the same accusations since she started her relationship with Cena. The 38-year-old also disclosed that WWE management sometimes treated her differently to avoid other superstars thinking these accusations were true:

John Cena and Nikki Bella got engaged in 2017 after The Leader of the Cenation proposed to the former Divas Champion at WrestleMania 33. However, they split nearly a year later, only a month before their wedding.

#2. WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and Sunny

In late 1996, Sunny and Shawn Michaels kicked off their romantic relationship. Sunny was then on a break from her relationship with her high school sweetheart Chris Candido. However, the WWE locker room did not know about it and felt sorry for Candido, as they thought he and Sunny were still together.

Speaking on his podcast, WWE SVP Bruce Prichard revealed that most of the WWE locker room was unsupportive of Michaels and Sunny’s relationship:

However, things later changed when the locker room realized that Candido probably knew about Sunny’s affair with Michaels and did nothing about it:

Sunny and Michaels dated for only a few months. Their romance, however, ended when the 49-year-old refused to move in with The Showstopper. Sunny continued her relationship with Candido until he passed away in 2005.

#1. Lana and Miro

While working and traveling together, Lana and Miro (FKA Rusev) fell for each other. The couple dated for a while before getting engaged in 2015. When news of their engagement leaked, Lana and Miro got a lot of heat backstage.

According to reports, Vince McMahon was unhappy because the couple were working on a storyline in which they were feuding. Miro was even dating Summer Rae on-screen at the time. Hence, the news of his engagement to Lana ruined the angle.

Another report claimed that WWE punished Miro by making him lose a match clean in only three minutes before Summer Rae buried him on live television.

In an interview with the Talk is Jericho podcast, Lana opened up about getting backstage heat following her engagement to Miro, revealing that WWE also punished her:

Miro and Lana tied the knot in July 2016. Four years later, the company released the former United States Champion from his contract due to budget cuts. Nearly a year later, WWE also let his wife go.

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