WWE’s Rhea Ripley is saying “I do.”
The former Women’s World Champion — whose real name is Demi Bennett — has married her longtime partner, fellow Australian wrestler Buddy Matthews (real name Matthew Adams).
“Til death. 23.06.24,” Ripley, 27, captioned a sweet photo of the happy couple kissing on their big day. In the snap, the two wrestlers can be seen decked out in all black while Ripley holds a bouquet with an assortment of flowers including black roses.
“Congrats!!!!!!” commented fellow WWE wrestler Bianca Belair.
Dominik Mysterio, who is Ripley’s onscreen paramour on Monday Night Raw, commented under the post: “”
Ripley and Matthews, 35, announced their engagement in August 2023. “1000x YES! Pure F—king happiness! ️,” Ripley captioned a photo of her kissing Matthews on the cheek and showing off her engagement ring at the time.
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Matthews works for rival company All Elite Wrestling, where he is a former World Trios Champion. Before that, he worked with Ripley in WWE under the stage name Buddy Murphy. He was released from his WWE contract in June 2021.
Before his relationship with Ripley, Matthews dated former WWE Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, whose real name is Lexi Cabrera. She is now married to singer Ryan Cabrera.
In March, Ripley addressed the differences in success that she and Matthews have experienced in WWE, and what it’s like to work for two different companies.
“He’s happy for me and he knows how far I can go in this company and how far his limitations are as well,” Ripley told Logan Paul on his “Impaulsive” podcast. “It’s a male-dominated sport, there’s only so many females in it, so if you really show that you’re different and you connect with the crowd in a certain way, you’re going to skyrocket to the top.”
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“He knows that when he was in WWE, he hit a peak there. The platform that I’m on [in WWE] is higher. I feel like he doesn’t get threatened by that and he says he doesn’t either, so I take his word. I trust him. I believe him,” Ripley continued. “He’s very comfortable in what he’s doing. He loves to help me along the way and help me grow, which is what a relationship should be.”
Ripley held the WWE Women’s World Championship for 380 days after winning the title from Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 in April 2023. After successfully defending the championship against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40 this past April, Ripley was forced to relinquish her title after suffering an arm injury on the April 8 episode of Raw.
During her reign, the Australian star, who hails from Adelaide, made history when she headlined WWE’s Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia. Ripley defeated Nia Jax in the first women’s main event to headline a premium WWE event in three years.
