Were Mandy Rose & Dolph Ziggler in a relationship during her time in WWE?
The WWE Universe was in awe when news of Mandy Rose dating Dolph Ziggler broke in 2020. Both superstars were involved in a love triangle storyline at the time, along with Otis, which made the rumors of a real-life relationship even more interesting.
Hailed as God’s Greatest Creation, Mandy was engaged to Michael Lubic in 2016 but broke up soon after. There was also news of her dating fellow superstar Sonya Deville. Meanwhile, Dolph Ziggler is alleged to have dated multiple superstars, including Nikki Bella, Sunny, and Dana Brooke. The latter was his ex-girlfriend during the Ziggler-Rose relationship rumors.
A story pitched in December 2019 led to Mandy Rose and Otis being romantically involved on WWE SmackDown. It laid the groundwork for a split of Fire & Desire as Sonya Deville was revealed to be the mastermind behind Ziggler’s apparent wooing of Rose. The angle eventually concluded at SummerSlam in a ’Loser Leaves Match' where Rose defeated Deville.
The ShowOff took fans by storm with his “second-best couple” comment on Instagram. Ziggler’s on-screen attitude with his partner was also noteworthy as the two constantly exchanged ’boops,' a sign of intimacy, as pointed out by Dana Brooke. This leads us to the question - Were Mandy Rose and Dolph Ziggler dating?
The answer is no. Reports of Ziggler’s relationship with Rose are often misinterpreted as real-life. In 2020-21, Mandy was involved with Tino Sabbatelli when Ziggler and Rose became a thing in WWE. She is reportedly still dating Sabatelli and is engaged to the former WWE star and NFL player.
WWE released Mandy Rose on December 14 of the previous year. Prior to her exit, she held the NXT Women’s Championship for 413 days.
Mandy Rose termed her WWE storyline with Otis and Dolph Ziggler as “pure entertainment”
Speaking on the Insight podcast with Chris Van Vliet, Mandy Rose reflected on the love triangle storyline and how it was a way for her to divert her mind from the negativity bought by the Covid pandemic.
“That was such a fun, like, loving, entertaining story. And I think of the timing of it, like, you know, right during the pandemic, too. So I feel like there was so much, you know, so much negativity going around, and just like, you know, people cooped up in their homes, and I felt like it was such a good story to just kind of like for, I don’t know, it was just pure entertainment. And it was fun.” (H/T TJR Wrestling)
It remains to be seen what’s next for the former NXT champion. She is currently focused on her FanTime earnings but may join the modeling industry soon. Meanwhile, WWE RAW Superstar Dolph Ziggler is often seen on television battling heels and putting them over.