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Rhea Ripley reveals why she hated husband Buddy Matthews at first: ‘Sir, how dare you?’
She hated the wrestler—then fell for the man behind the persona. Rhea Ripley admits her first impression of Buddy Matthews was far from loving.
Rhea Ripley surprised fans when she recently confessed that she once couldn’t stand her now-husband, AEW star Buddy Matthews. In a playful social-media post, Ripley shared a reel showing partners who drift apart—then quipped that her own relationship went the opposite way.
The WWE Women’s World Championship contender admitted that she despised him in the beginning, all because Matthews had laid out popular NXT wrestler Sway with a forearm to the face. Today, the duo is happily married and proving that first impressions can be overturned.
From heel heat to husband
Ripley told Insight host Chris Van Vliet that her initial dislike stemmed from seeing Matthews punch Sway during their Australian independent-circuit days. “I used to hate him,” she laughed, recalling her outrage at the move.
Despite praising his in-ring skill, saying that “he moves so incredibly well for the size that he is,” Ripley admitted she “hated him with a passion” when he debuted as a heel. She tells Vliet: “Because I loved Sway, which was a female wrestler… and he just punched Sway straight in the face. I was like, sir, how dare you?”
A love story in reverse
Their romance began in 2022, and quickly blossomed into an engagement in August 2023. The wrestler duo ultimately tied the knot with a private wedding last June. Ripley recently celebrated the milestone with a cheeky Instagram story, writing “Reverse the role @snm_buddy” alongside a video of partners growing apart, pointing out how the contrary happened with them.
During the interview, she also told Vliet that over time, her relationship with Matthews got better, until eventually, he became “someone special” to her: “Matt is the best husband I could ever ask for. He does absolutely everything for me.” Today, Ripley competes for WWE’s top women’s prize at Evolution 2, while Matthews recovers from injury in AEW.
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