6 most controversial real-life love triangles in WWE history
Over the past few decades, the WWE locker room has seen a few controversial real-life love triangles.
WWE has had several controversial love-triangle storylines. Some of these angles even made some superstars uncomfortable. Bobby Lashley, for example, has revealed that although he tried to have fun with it, he was not entirely comfortable during his on-screen love-triangle storyline with Lana and Miro (FKA Rusev).
Meanwhile, other superstars also found themselves in uncomfortable situations after getting involved in real-life love triangles with their co-workers. While some of these love affairs have remained away from the public eye, a few got addressed on television. The company even turned one of these real-life dramas into a storyline.
Here are the six most controversial real-life love triangles in WWE history in no particular order.
#6. Johnny Mundo, Melina, and Batista
In the early 2000s, Melina and Johnny Mundo (FKA John Morrison) started their relationship. The couple worked together in OVW, WWE's former developmental brand, before debuting on the main roster as part of MNM in 2005.
Melina and Mundo dated on and off for over a decade. They then split for good in 2015. In an interview with Jim Ross on the Ross Report, the former Women's Champion revealed that her relationship with Mundo ended because of rumors of her cheating on him with fellow superstar Batista.
Although Melina denied dating Batista, The Animal had another story about his relationship with the 43-year-old. In his autobiography "Batista Unleashed," the former World Heavyweight Champion claimed that he and Melina dated after his second divorce.
"Since then, as I've said, Melina and I have gotten closer and our relationship has become physical. That's caused a bit of controversy, but I don't give a sh*t. She's my friend, and I love her very much," he wrote.
In an interview with the Charleston-Post Courier in 2007, The Animal stated that Morrison was aware of his relationship with Melina.
"He [Morrison] knew everything from day one. From the day we started talking. That was one of the things that a lot of people didn't realize and didn't bother to ask. Melina and John weren't together anymore. He was always aware of what was going on, and she was very honest with him. They split up and moved apart, and we started dating each other," he said.
Melina and Batista's romance reportedly lasted only a few months in 2007. Melina later continued dating Mundo for several years before their final breakup.
The three wrestlers are no longer in WWE. Melina and Morrison are currently active on the independent circuit. Meanwhile, Batista retired from wrestling to pursue a career in Hollywood.
#5. John Cena, Mickie James, and Kenny Dykstra
In 2006, Mickie James and Kenny Dykstra started dating. Nearly a year later, the couple announced their engagement.
However, James reportedly had a short love affair with John Cena in 2008, around the same time they had an on-screen romance angle. That same year, Dykstra and James called off their engagement. The former member of The Spirit Squad also got released from his WWE contract.
A few years later, Dykstra claimed that James had cheated on him with Cena and even confessed her unfaithfulness to him.
"She was googling mickie james and john cena dating. I asked why, she broke down crying. Then I heard more from others. She was checking to see if it was on the net yet," he wrote on Twitter.
In an interview with Lilian Garcia in 2017, James responded to Dykstra's claims, stating that most of them were lies to help his book sales. However, she seemingly confirmed having dated Cena as she addressed the possibility of working with him again after returning to WWE in 2016.
"We're all adults, and you know obviously this business is what it is. We've all had our share of relationships failed. I think that being adults and being professionals…I would hope that, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to be pretty awesome, because I'm sure that I'm going to have to work with Nikki [Bella] (Cena's ex-girlfriend) in the ring and I know that we could do some really amazing stuff," she said. [H/T: Wrestling News]
While Dykstra is now a WWE producer and trainer at the Performance Center, the company released James from her contract last year. She is currently active in IMPACT Wrestling.
Meanwhile, Cena is now a part-time WWE Superstar and a full-time Hollywood actor. He will return to Monday Night RAW next week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his main roster debut.
#4. Shawn Michaels, Sunny, and Chris Candido
Shawn Michaels and Tammy Sytch during their “sunny days” period in the late 90s ❤️ https://t.co/trlZDEIdGj
While still in high school, Sunny started dating Chris Candido (FKA Skip). She later followed him into the wrestling business as they worked together in Smoky Mountain Wrestling in the early 1990s. In 1995, the couple signed with Vince McMahon's company.
During her time in WWE, Sunny had an alleged love affair with Shawn Michaels. The relationship caused controversy in the WWE locker room as superstars believed Sunny was cheating on Candido.
On his podcast, WWE SVP Bruce Prichard disclosed that the locker room initially sympathized with Candido.
"The general sentiment of the locker room and everybody else was more of not, 'oh my God, they're over there f***ing' was 'poor Chris [Candido]' because it just put Chris in a bad light. It put him in a horrible, awkward position," he said. [H/T: 411 Mania]
However, the locker room's opinion later changed when the superstars realized that Candido probably knew about Michaels and Sunny's affair and did nothing about it. Several years later, the 49-year-old revealed that she and Candido were on a break when she started dating Michaels. However, they did not tell anyone about it because it was nobody's business.
Michaels and Sunny's romance lasted only nine months. The Heartbreak Kid ended the relationship when Sunny refused to move in with him because she did not want to leave Candido.
"It was basically because I was choosing to like stick, basically I wanted my cake and eat it too. I wanted to stay home let Chris be happy but I wanted Shawn too on the road. I wanted both and he wasn't having that," Sunny explained in an old interview. [7:26 - 7:36]
After she and Michaels split, Sunny returned to Candido. They remained together until he passed away in 2005.
#3. Brock Lesnar, Sable, and Marc Mero
In 1996, WWE signed former WCW star Marc Mero. Vince McMahon also hired Mero's wife, Sable. The 53-year-old's first WWE run lasted for nearly three years, during which she won the Women's Championship once. She and her husband then left the company in 1999.
Four years later, Sable returned to WWE. While she was still married to Mero, the former Women's Champion started a romance with fellow WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar. In an interview with the Stone Cold Podcast, Mero stated that Sable cheated on him with The Beast Incarnate. He explained that he found out about his wife's affair with Lesnar after listening to her voice messages.
"I have to listen to the first one to get to mine and it was another wrestler talking about them two. I remember thinking, 'when I find out who this guy is, I'm going to kick the living tar out of this man! And then, I found out it was Brock Lesnar! Steve, this gives forgiveness a whole new meaning! Our marriage was over. We ended up getting divorced," Mero said.
Mero and Sable officially divorced in 2004. Two years later, the former Women's Champion and Lesnar tied the knot. They now have two children together.
#2. Edge, Lita, and Matt Hardy
“I almost quit a month [into] the whole love triangle.
At that point, not only was it so hard, it was also out of shame. Like, I wasn’t proud of how I conducted myself.”
- Lita on the Edge/Matt Hardy/Lita storyline https://t.co/3AGXzsKdy1
Nearly 23 years ago, Matt Hardy and Lita started dating. Over the next few years, they became one of the most famous real-life couples in WWE.
Although many thought the couple would eventually marry, they surprisingly split in 2005, after Matt discovered that his girlfriend was having a fling with Edge. The love triangle became even more controversial when WWE fired Hardy for his "unprofessional conduct" after finding out about the affair.
WWE later re-signed Hardy. However, the company turned the real-life drama into one of the most controversial storylines in WWE history, bringing the real-life love triangle to television. Working on the storyline was uncomfortable for all parties involved.
In an interview with Oral Sessions, Lita revealed that she almost quit WWE during the storyline.
"I almost quit a month [into] the whole love triangle. At that point, not only was it so hard, it was also out of shame. Like, I wasn't proud of how I conducted myself. Yes, if I had to do it all over again, I absolutely would have handled myself differently. But I didn't. So, I was like, make the bed, and you lie in it. And at that point, I was just like, I deserve all of these terrible things that everybody is saying to me. I deserve not wanting to wake up every morning. It was also difficult, as time passed, to let myself off the hook," she said.
Edge and Lita later broke up. While the former Women's Champion is seemingly single now, The Rated R Superstar is married to WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix. Meanwhile, Matt Hardy is currently married to former wrestler Reby Sky.
#1. WWE interim Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Chyna
While working together on a storyline in 1999, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H developed feelings for each other. However, The Game was then in a relationship with fellow WWE Superstar Chyna.
Triple H and Stephanie started dating in 2000. Their romance was surrounded by controversy as Chyna accused The Game of cheating on her. She also revealed that she found love letters from Stephanie in her boyfriend's bag.
However, Triple later addressed these accusations in an interview with Howard Stern, disclosing that his relationship with Chyna had already gone downhill when he started dating Stephanie.
"There's a misconception of the way that things ended with us, but it was our relationship had gone downhill. There's a period of time where we were seperated and things happened in between and then you kind of partway get back together and it really wasn't a full-blown relationship at that time. [Technically I wasn't cheating] yeah, I don't see things the same way she does," he said. [11:04 - 11:28]
Although Stephanie also believed things were not good between Triple H and Chyna when she began dating The Game, she took a step back when she realized the couple were still living together.
"Supposedly, they [Triple H and Chyna] weren't dating at that point. They had a house together and they're trying to get out of the house or whatever. We saw each other for a couple months and then when it came apparent to me that obviously she is living in your house and something's going on, we stopped talking for a long time," she told Howard Stern.
Stephanie and Triple H stopped talking for a long time until The Game ended his relationship with Chyna. They then dated for three years before tying the knot in 2003. The couple now have three daughters.