Brie Bella Brianna Monique Danielson ( née Garcia - Colace ) ( November 21 , 1983 ) was an American twin model and a semi retired professional wrestler . She is best known for her time with WWE working under the ring name Brie Bella . She is perhaps best known for her time competing as a professional wrestling tag team with her twin sister Nicole ( Nikki Bella ) , collectively referred to as The Bella Twins . Before being promoted to the main WWE roster , The Bella Twins wrestled with Florida Championship Wrestling , where they were trained by Tom Prichard , and mainly competed in tag team competition . Brie made her debut on SmackDown in August 2008 ; she debuted first , and as part of her in - ring persona , would disappear under the ring during matches , emerging revived . Eventually , however , it was discovered she was switching places with her twin , Nikki , under the ring in order to gain an advantage . They then competed in tag team matches . Beginning in November 2008 , an angle was written in which The Bella Twins developed an on - screen relationship with The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) and John Morrison and The Miz . In early 2010 Jerry Springer came to Raw were the superstars and divas ( featuring The Bellas ) pulled a prank on Jerry . The prank was that Kelly was " Pregnant " . During the prank The Bellas came out and they were on about " their own little secret " . Brie started to explain to Jerry to then be interrupted by Nikki who shouted " Brie is a man ! " Brie seemed completely shocked . As soon as Nikki turned back to face her sister . Brie slapped Nikki across the face as Kelly and Jerry responded with a Big " OOOOO " and then attacked her which caused a brawl to then be broken up by security . They were later involved in a storyline romance with Daniel Bryan . In April 2011 , Brie won the WWE Divas Championship . Early career . Brianna was born in San Diego , California and raised in Scottsdale , Arizona in a family of Mexican and Italian descent . She played soccer up until college , when they started modeling , acting , and doing promotional work . Brie made he first national TV appearance on the Fox reality show " Meet My Folks " . Following this appearance , the Garcia twins were hired to be the World Cup Twins for Budweiser and were photographed holding the World Cup trophy . They then participated in the 2006 " International Body Doubles twins search " . They participated in the 2006 WWE Diva Search but did not make the cut . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2008 – 2012 ) . Debut and Various Feuds ( 2008 – 2010 ) . On the August 29 , 2008 episode of SmackDown , Brianna debuted as Brie Bella under a fan favorite character and defeated Victoria . She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria ' s accomplice , Nattie Neidhart , who was now using the ring name Natalya , and had a series of matches against them . In each match Brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it , emerging and appearing revived , and then win the match . On the October 31 episode of SmackDown when Brie went under the ring Victoria grabbed her legs , but a second pair of legs kicked her off , implying that a second person was under the ring . The following week on SmackDown , Brie picked up a win against Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria , but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring , resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out . The twins then attacked them and celebrated afterward . Nicole was then introduced as Nikki . The twins had their first official match as a team on the November 21 episode of SmackDown , defeating Victoria and Natalya . They continued competing in tag team matches for the next few months . Starting in November , they developed an on - screen relationship with The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) , appearing in numerous backstage segments with them , and accompanying them to the ring . On the February 13 , 2009 episode of SmackDown , John Morrison and The Miz flirted with The Bellas backstage . As Morrison and The Miz were scheduled to have a match against Carlito and Primo that night , a stipulation was added that the winning team would win a date with The Bellas on Valentine ' s Day . During their date , Primo and Carlito were disguised as waiters and tried to sabotage the date , resulting in The Bellas getting angry with the two . The date provoked a rivalry between the teams of The Miz and Morrison and Primo and Carlito , with them competing for the affection of The Bella Twins , who were seemingly unable to choose between them . On the March 17 episode of ECW , Carlito and Primo , accidentally spat apples in the face of Brie , which was originally aimed at Morrison and The Miz . Nikki started to laugh at Brie ' s misfortune , and a fight broke out between the two of them , which led to Nikki turning heel and leaving with The Miz and Morrison , while Brie stayed with Primo and Carlito . Brie won her first match over Nikki in a six - person intergender tag team match on the March 27 episode of SmackDown . In their first singles match , on the March 31 episode of ECW , Brie was defeated by her heel twin sister in a singles match . The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft . On the April 27 episode of Raw , Brie made her Raw in - ring debut in an eight - Diva tag team match , which her team won . Nikki also made an appearance , reuniting with her twin , as she was under the ring to help out Brie during her match . Nikki then made her official in - ring debut on the May 18 episode of Raw in a battle royal but was eliminated by Beth Phoenix . On June 29 , 2009 , they were both traded to the ECW brand . They debuted on ECW on June 30 , 2009 on The Abraham Washington Show , as the special guests . The following Tuesday on ECW Nikki defeated Katie Lea Burchill , by switching places with Brie behind the referee ' s back . The following week on WWE Superstars Brie also defeated Burchill after a similar switch . The Bella Twins were then featured on September 10 episode of Superstars , when Nikki defeated Burchill . On October 12 , 2009 , The Bellas were sent back to Raw as part of a tri - branded divas trade , where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and occasionally competed in matches . On the January 4 , 2010 , episode of Raw , Brie participated in the tournament to determine the new Divas Champion tournament match , but lost to Maryse in the first round . During the match , the twins switched places behind the referee ' s back so it was Nikki who was pinned . In June 2010 , they developed a feud with Jillian Hall , when Brie defeated her after switching with Nikki . The following week , Nikki defeated Jillian after switching with Brie . On the July 8 episode of Superstars , The Bellas acted as the special guest referees during a mixed tag team match with Primo and Hall facing Yoshi Tatsu and Gail Kim . During the match , Jillian attacked both twins , but lost the match when Kim pinned her and Nikki made a fast count . On the next episode of Superstars , the twins defeated Jillian and Maryse in a tag team match . On August 31 , The Bella Twins announced they would be part of season three of NXT , mentoring Jamie . Jamie was the first rookie eliminated on the October 5 episode of NXT . On the October 19 episode of NXT , Nikki teased a heel turn after becoming upset after Kelly Kelly ' s rookie Naomi kicked Brie in the face during the match . Nikki attacked Naomi and eventually threw Brie ( the legal woman ) out of the ring and pin Naomi . On the November 22 episode of Raw , Brie ran out to accompany Daniel Bryan to his match against Ted DiBiase who had Maryse in his corner . Following Bryan ' s win , Nikki ran out and the two fought over Bryan ' s affection only to have Bryan break it up and have both of them hug each other . They began to manage Bryan , frequently accompanying him to the ring . Heel Turn and Divas Champion ; Departure ( 2011 – 2012 ) . On the January 24 episode of Raw , the twins discovered Bryan kissing Gail Kim backstage . After it was explained to them that Gail was Bryan ' s girlfriend , The Bellas assaulted her , turning both Brie and her sister heel for the first time in their WWE careers . On January 30 at the Royal Rumble , they once again assaulted Gail Kim , and again the following night on Raw . On the February 7 episode of Raw , they debuted in their first match as heels , teaming with Melina in a losing effort to WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres , Tamina , and Gail Kim . The Bella Twins began feuding with Eve Torres after they appeared as lumberjills during a WWE Divas Championship match between Eve and Natalya on the February 14 episode of Raw . Following the match , they attacked Eve backstage before Gail Kim and Natalya made the save . The following week , The Bella Twins defeated Eve and Gail Kim in a tag team match after using " Twin Magic " . On the March 17 episode of WWE Superstars , The Bella Twins teamed up with Melina and Alicia Fox in a losing effort against Tamina , Gail Kim , Natayla , Eve Torres . The following week on the March 31 episode of WWE Superstars , The Bellas and Melina , defeated Eve , Gail , and Natalya after Brie pinned Eve following another " Twin Magic " switch . On the April 11 episode of Raw , the evil Brie defeated Eve to win the WWE Divas Championship from her , marking the first time that either twin had held a championship in the WWE . Brie went on to successfully defend the championship against Kelly Kelly at Over the Limit , after switching places with Nikki again . The following night on Raw , they teamed with fellow heels Maryse and Melina against Kelly Kelly , Beth Phoenix , Gail Kim , and Eve Torres , however , the match ended in a no - contest following an interruption from Kharma . On the May 30 episode of Raw , The Bella Twins were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Eve . Later that night , they interrupted and mocked Kharma when she revealed that she was pregnant and that she was taking a year ' s leave of absence from the WWE . On the June 6 episode of Raw , The Bella Twins were defeated in a divas tag team match by Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix after Brie was pinned by Phoenix . Their losing streak continued on the June 13 episode of Raw , when they lost a 7 on 7 divas tag team match teaming with Melina , Rosa Mendes , Alicia Fox , Maryse , and Tamina in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly , Beth Phoenix , Gail Kim , Eve Torres , Natalya , AJ , and Kaitlyn . On the June 20 episode of Raw , a special " Power to the People " episode , where Brie would defend her title against either Eve , Kelly Kelly , or Beth Phoenix , Kelly was selected by the WWE Universe as her opponent , who defeated Brie and won the Divas Championship . The following week on Raw , Nikki faced Kelly in a Raw Roulette match . A submission match was picked and Nikki lost after tapping out to a Boston crab . After the match , both of The Bellas attacked Kelly until Eve Torres came to the rescue , throwing both Bellas out of the ring . It was later announced that Brie ' s rematch for the WWE Divas Championship would take place at the Money in the Bank pay - per - view . On July 17 , Brie challenged Kelly for the WWE Divas Championship at the Money in the Bank 2011 pay - per - view , but failed to win . On the August 1 episode of Raw , Brie and Nikki both took part in a battle royal to face Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship at SummerSlam . They both failed to win but were eliminated last simultaneously at the hands of the victorious Beth Phoenix . On the August 29 episode of Raw , The Bellas ' losing streak finally ended when Brie Bella defeated Kelly Kelly after switching places with her sister Nikki . On the September 29 episode of WWE Superstars , The Bella Twins defeated Chickbusters ( A . J . and Kaitlyn ) . On the October 27 episode of WWE Superstars Eve and Kelly Kelly defeated The Bella Twins , when Kelly pinned Brie . On the November 29 episode of SmackDown , Brie Bella won a Divas " Mistletoe on a Pole " match . After the match , Mick Foley confronted Brie and told her that she have the opportunity to kiss a Superstar of her choice between now and Christmas . At the 2011 annual Tribute to the Troops , The Bella Twins teamed up with Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a losing effort to Kelly Kelly , Alicia Fox , Eve & Maria Menounos . They would then enter into a storyline where they pursued Alberto Del Rio . On the January 2 episode of Raw , The Bellas defeated Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres in a tag team match . On January 16 episode of Raw , they were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox , since Raw ' s special guest , Perez Hilton thwarted their attempt at Twin Magic . After the match , Nikki and Brie would go and try to attack Perez but Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox would come to the aid of Perez . The Bella ' s began to show friction for the second time since joining WWE after both twins had lost to AJ in singles competition . After Brie ' s match with AJ , Nikki revealed that Brie was rooting for Team Johnny in the 12 - man tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII , whilst Nikki was rooting for Team Teddy . As a result , Brie maintained her villainous persona while Nikki briefly acted as a face . At WrestleMania XXVIII , the evil Brie was in the corner of the victorious Team Johnny to further her dissension from her sister . On the April 6 episode of SmackDown , Nikki Bella ( without the assistance of her twin sister Brie ) , took on the Divas Champion Beth Phoenix . Before the match started , Kelly Kelly came out to distract Phoenix , which then allowed Nikki pick up the win . On the April 23 episode of Raw , Nikki defeated Beth Phoenix in a lumberjill match for the WWE Divas Championship , ending Phoenix ' s reign as champion at 204 days . Brie lost Nikki ' s championship to Layla at Extreme Rules , after attempting Twin Magic . The following night on Raw , they competed in their last match with the WWE , failing to win back the Divas Championship from Layla in a triple threat match . Later that night , WWE announced on their website that the twins had been fired by Executive Administrator Eve Torres . This storyline was reportedly used to facilitate the expiration of their contracts , which the twins had decided not to renew . Independent circuit ( 2012 – 2013 ) . On May 1 , 2012 , Nikki and Brie , formerly known as The Bella Twins , appeared at their first independent wrestling show in Newburgh , New York at Northeast Wrestling . Appearing as special guests , Nikki and Brie argued over who was the better man , Luke Robinson or Jerry Lawler , resulting a match between the two . During the match , Luke kissed Brie only to get slapped from both twins , leaving Lawler to roll up for the win . After the match , both Brie and Nikki left the arena with Jerry Lawler . Nicole and Brianna made their debut for CTWE Pro Wrestling ] at their Season Beatings pay - per - view on December 15 , where Nicole accompanied " Platinum Playboy " J - Busta where he defeated Anthony Greene who was accompanied Brianna . After the match , Brie Bella turned on Anthony Greene and slapped him across the face , followed by a post - match Super Kick from J - Busta . Return to WWE ( 2013 – 2014 ) . Total Divas ( 2013 - 2014 ) . Brie and Nikki returned to WWE on the March 11 , 2013 episode of Raw , in a backstage segment with Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow also confronting Divas Champion Kaitlyn , beginning to associate themselves with the Rhodes Scholars , retaining their heel personas . On the March 15 episode of SmackDown , The Bella Twins attacked The Funkadactyls ( Cameron and Naomi ) in a backstage segment . On the March 22 episode of SmackDown , The Bella Twins interfered in Rhodes and Sandow ' s match against Brodus Clay and Tensai , but they were attacked by Cameron and Naomi . The Bella Twins made their in ring return on the March 27 episode of Main Event facing The Funkadactyls following interference from Rhodes and defeating them on Raw . The Bella Twins were scheduled to participate in an eight - person tag team match with Team Rhodes Scholars against Tons of Funk ( Brodus and Tensai ) and The Funkadactyls at WrestleMania 29 , but the match was cancelled due to time restraints . The match instead took place the following night on Raw , with Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls emerging victorious . They continued to feud with The Funkadactyls , defeating them in standard and six - diva tag team matches . In June 2013 , Nikki suffered a fractured tibia . Upon the debut of Total Divas in July 2013 , The Bellas began feuding with their co - star on the show , Natalya . Brie and Natalya went on to trade victories in singles competition on Raw and at SummerSlam . The cast of Total Divas then transition into a feud with Divas Champion AJ Lee , who mocked the show and cast . At Night of Champions , Brie unsuccessfully faced AJ for the Divas title in a four - way match including Natalya and Naomi . Following Brie ' s real - life engagement to Daniel Bryan , their relationship began to be acknowledged on WWE television , which turned both Bellas face in the process . Continuing their feud into October , Brie and AJ faced off at WWE Battleground and Hell in a Cell pay - per - views for the Divas Championship , but Brie was unsuccessful both times . At Survivor Series the following month , the twins were part of the victorious Team Total Divas . The twins failed to win the Divas Championship again at WrestleMania XXX on April 6 in the Divas Invitational match , which was won by AJ . Feuds with Stephanie McMahon and Nikki Bella ( 2014 ) . Brie became involved in her husband Daniel Bryan ' s ongoing feud with Stephanie McMahon and Kane after WrestleMania XXX . At Payback , Bryan was given a decision to make to either relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or Brie would be fired . Brie decided to quit , slapping Stephanie McMahon in her last action as a WWE Diva . On the July 21 edition of Raw , Brie returned as a fan in attendance during her sister ' s handicap match , and was slapped on the face by Stephanie during a confrontation . Later in the program , Brie had Stephanie arrested for assault . A week later , Brie demanded to be rehired and face Stephanie at SummerSlam in exchange for dropping the assault charges , which Stephanie accepted . At the contract signing on August 4 , both Brie and Nikki were attacked by Stephanie , who delivered her husband ' s Pedigree to both Bellas . On the following week , Brie attacked Daniel Bryan ' s physical therapist , Megan Miller , after Stephanie had Miller reveal that she had a ( kayfabe ) affair with Bryan , and later applied the " Yes Lock " to Stephanie . Later in the program , Brie was arrested by Stephanie after Miller filed assault charges . At SummerSlam on August 17 , Brie was defeated by Stephanie in a singles match , with the loss coming after Nikki turned heel and attacked Brie during the match . The following evening on " Raw " , Brie confronted Nikki over her actions , but she was slapped in the face by Nikki , causing Brie to leave in tears . Brie was later forced by Nikki to compete in handicap matches , similar to Nikki ' s punishment at the hand of Stephanie McMahon ; Brie was able to defeat Eva Marie and Cameron on " Raw " on September 29 and The Slayers ( Layla and Summer Rae ) on " Main Event " that same week Brie ' s feud with Nikki came to a head at Hell In A Cell , where she was defeated by Nikki in a singles match , and was forced to become Nikki ' s personal assistant . On the final " Raw " before Survivor Series , Brie ( dressed as AJ Lee ) defeated Nikki and was later attacked by Nikki after the match ended . Team Bella and semi retirement ( 2014 - 2016 ) . At Survivor Series , Brie turned villainous when she helped Nikki defeat AJ Lee to capture the Divas Championship , and later reconciled with Nikki . She continued to be at ringside during Nikki ' s successful title defenses against the AJ Lee and later Paige , which led to a feud between the two teams . It was at WrestleMania 31 that Brie and Nikki were defeated by Lee and Paige in a tag team match . Brie and Nikki became babyfaces due to Naomi ' s heel turn on April 13 , leading to a feud between Nikki and Naomi . At Extreme Rules , Brie assisted Nikki in defeating Naomi to retain the Divas Championship , but on the following night ' s " Raw " , both Bellas were attacked by Naomi and the returning Tamina Snuka . At Payback , the twins were defeated by Naomi and Tamina in a tag team match , when Naomi pinned Nikki . The following evening on " Raw " , Brie turned villainous once again , as did Nikki , by employing Twin Magic , which helped Nikki retain the championship against Paige . Brie also got involved in the title match at Money In The Bank , and was attacked by Paige . Alicia Fox later allied with the twins to form Team Bella . After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige , Naomi , and Tamina , Stephanie McMahon called for a " revolution " in the WWE Divas division and introduced the debuting Charlotte and Becky Lynch as Paige ' s allies . NXT Women ' s Champion Sasha Banks would debut as an ally to Naomi and Tamina , which led to a brawl between the three teams The three teams would ultimately face off on August 23 at SummerSlam in a three team elimination match , in which Team Bella first eliminated Team B . A . D . when Brie pinned Tamina , before Team PCB ' s Becky Lynch pinned Brie to win the match for her team . On the September 14 episode of Raw , Nikki defended the Divas Championship against Charlotte , who pinned Brie after the twins had switched places to win the match , however , since the title cannot change hands by disqualification , Nikki retained the championship , and in the process , became the new longest reigning Divas Champion in history , surpassing AJ Lee ' s previous record of 295 days . After Nikki lost the title to Charlotte at Night of Champions , and failed to regain it at Hell In A Cell , Brie participated in a # 1 Contender ' s Fatal Four Way Match on the November 2 episode of " Raw " , which was won by Paige . Brie would become the # 1 Contender to Charlotte ' s Divas Championship at Fastlane after she beat Charlotte on the February 1 episode of " Raw " . Brie would lose to Charlotte at Fastlane , failing to capture the title . In March , Brie was placed in a feud with Lana and went on to distract Brie during her matches and attack her after her matches . Brie then aligned herself with fellow " Total Divas " cast members Alicia Fox , Natalya , Paige and Eva Marie , while Lana aligned herself with Team B . A . D . ( Naomi and Tamina ) , Summer Rae and Emma , leading to a 10 - woman tag team match on the WrestleMania 32 kick - off show , which Team Total Divas would win when Brie submitted Naomi . Three days later , on April 6 , Brie confirmed that she would be taking an extended break from in – ring competition , citing family reasons , while also stating that she will continue working for WWE as ambassador . Personal life . Brianna and her long - term boyfriend , retired professional wrestler Bryan Danielson ( better known as Daniel Bryan ) , revealed their engagement in September 2013 . The couple married on April 11 , 2014 . She was previously in a relationship with former Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen . Brianna is an animal and environmental advocate , and has used her appearances on " Total Divas " to promote awareness of environmental and animal cruelty issues . On October 5 , 2016 , she and Bryan Danielson ( WWE Smackdown GM , Daniel Bryan ) announced they are expecting their first child together .