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Brie Bella Ex Boyfriend: Who did Brie Bella used to date?

Author

William Howard

Published Jan 01, 2026

Brie Bella was reportedly in love with a boy who she referred to as “Bear.” She opened up about their high school romance in the Bella Twins, new memoir, Incomparable. Unfortunately, Bear died when Brie was just 18 years old, and though it was a painful memory, she unraveled his death and what she went through in its aftermath in the memoir.

In an interview with HollywoodLife to recount how she felt following her then-boyfriend’s death, Brie said; “I definitely found it therapeutic,” “But it was really hard to relive at my age to just think of myself in high school and it was my first love. We were so in love and we had all these plans, like what we were going to do outside of high school. I thought of myself at a young age, going through that, and it made me sad when I had to retell that story. I’ve had so much spiritual growth since then. So that helps me. But it was weird to just talk about myself at 18 years old and everything I felt then. I literally felt my world collapse on my shoulders, but I do love that the world gets to read about Bear. He was such a special human and it almost makes me proud that people now know him and know just how incredible he was.”

Prior to marrying her now-husband, Bryan Danielson, Brie Bella dated Guitarist Richie Kotzen.

In The Bella Twins’ book Incomparable, Brie mentioned dating a guitarist. However, she referred to him as Craig.

“I landed a job as a waitress at Sushiya, on Sunset. A lot of celebrities and Hollywood types would come in, which is how I met Craig. He was the guitarist for a rock band, who I went on to date for five-and-a-half years,” she wrote.

Amid her relationship with the guitarist, Brie received an offer to join WWE. She revealed that her then-boyfriend was hurt when she told him that she was taking a job as a professional wrestler and relocating to Florida. But, he helped her pack and promised to visit her.

However, the duo broke up nearly three years after Bella joined WWE. The reasons for their split include a 14-year age gap, living apart in different states, and the guitarist not wanting to get married and have kids other than his daughter from a previous relationship.

Brie Bella has been married to Bryan Danielson since 2014.