Total Bellas: Nikki and Brie Bella pose naked for pregnancy photoshoot before splitting pre-delivery
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Nikki and Brie Bella posed naked in their eighth month of pregnancy on Thursday’s episode of Total Bellas.
The 37-year-old twins were due to have their babies less than two weeks apart, and they wanted to commemorate the coincidence with a photo shoot.
‘I just can’t believe this is the last time we’re gonna be pregnant together,’ Brie told her sister as they stripped down for the photographer, Cole Cameron.
Pregnancy photoshoot: Nikki and Brie Bella posed naked in their eighth month of pregnancy on Thursday’s episode of Total Bellas
The twins posed back-to-back and belly-to-belly, taking care that ‘our boobs don’t touch, because we get weird about that,’ Brie explained.
Artem Chigvintsev, 38, joined his fiancé Nikki for a couples’ photo, wrapping his bare arms around her naked form.
Brie looked at the pair admiringly, but her heart was heavy.
In a few days, she knew, Nikki would be heading back to Los Angeles to give birth, while she would be having her baby in Phoenix, Arizona.
Double pregnancies: The 37-year-old twins were due to have their babies less than two weeks apart, and they wanted to commemorate the coincidence with a photo shoot
‘It’s really bittersweet doing this photo shoot with Nicole,’ Brie reflected. ‘We’ve shared this whole journey together, and now she’s leaving at, like, the grand finale. Our baby is coming out.’
Nikki’s son Matteo arrived on July 31, 2020, and Brie’s son Buddy was born the next day.
But as the episode opened, both of the sisters were grappling with what it would mean to have their children so far away from one another.
Delivery change: As the episode opened, both of the sisters were grappling with what it would mean to have their children so far away from one another
Nikki and Artem had to call Brie when they installed Matteo’s car seat for the first time, and she told them they’d used the wrong one and done it backwards.
Brie later enjoyed a pedicure from Nikki, and thought about how sad she was not to be with her when their babies were born.
To Nikki’s dismay, her insurance only covered her labor and delivery in California, where she had her primary residence.
Car seat: Nikki and Artem Chigvintsev had to call Brie when they installed Matteo’s car seat for the first time, and she told them they’d used the wrong one and done it backwards
Foot work: Brie later enjoyed a pedicure from Nikki, and thought about how sad she was not to be with her when their babies were born
It wouldn’t allow her to give birth in Phoenix, where she had built a home next to Brie.
As a first-time mom, that made Nikki nervous, but Brie was equally worried about her own situation, as she’d have to learn how to care for a baby while raising her three-year-old daughter Bird.
Brie’s husband Bryan Danielson, 39, was working the SummerSlam wrestling event in Orlando, Florida, and couldn’t be home with her.
California delivery: To Nikki’s dismay, her insurance only covered her labor and delivery in California, where she had her primary residence
For a while, Nikki thought she might give birth in Phoenix after all; her business manager said that because of the coronavirus pandemic, her insurance might cover the change in location.
Delighted, she and Artem took a test run to their hospital there, trying to imagine how everything would go on the day she went into labor.
Nikki was so excited, she couldn’t wait to tell her sister that she was going to be right there with her when they both gave birth.
Test run: Nikki and Artem took a test run to their hospital in Phoenix, trying to imagine how everything would go on the day she went into labor
She went over to Brie’s house where they both had a blast trying to figure out what sex Brie’s baby would be, swinging her wedding ring over Brie’s belly to see what shape it made.
According to tradition, if the ring swings in a circle, it’s a girl; if it’s a boy, it moves in a line—though Brie’s ‘test’ was inconclusive.
‘I know something that might make you feel better,’ Nikki teased. ‘We’re going to have our baby in Arizona.’
First baby: Artem and Nikki were expecting their first child together
Brie couldn’t believe it, saying in a confessional, ‘This is exactly what I imagined, my sister and I having babies together. This is what I wanted. It’s perfect.’
The twins merged their doctor’s appointments and went to Nikki’s ultrasound together.
They marveled at how much hair her baby Matteo already had, and how much he looked like Nikki, with her dimple and smile.
Bad news: Nikki broke the bad news to her sister that she had to have her baby in Los Angeles
Both of them were amazed by the fact that their babies were nearly the same weight, and growth percentile, and their heartbeats were just a few beats off.
‘Our babies could be born the same day,’ Brie marveled.
That’s when Nikki got the call: She couldn’t give birth in Phoenix, because her labor was still two months away and not an ’emergency’ that would allow for switching to another state.
Family time: Brie and her daughter Birdie talked to Bryan Danielson on a video call
‘I’m just so disappointed,’ Nikki said in a confessional. ‘All of a sudden, it felt like everything was coming together, and now it’s crushed.’
She was afraid to tell Brie, but realized that she had to go where she had insurance coverage, ‘because when it comes to labor, you don’t know what your body’s gonna do.’
‘I have some really bad news,’ she told her sister as they drove to a take-out restaurant. ‘They won’t cover me here, not even a dime. Nothing.’
Plan change: Artem took the change in plans in stride
She added that they needed to be in Los Angeles so Artem could find work, too.
‘I get that,’ Brie said, looking down. ‘It just makes me really sad.’
Brie was concerned about what she was going to do without Bryan, Nikki and Artem by her side, and Nikki was unsure how she’d carry on without her sister.
Valid concern: Brie was concerned about what she was going to do without Bryan, Nikki and Artem by her side
‘I’ll admit, Brie,’ Nikki began. ‘Without you, I’m f***ing scared. I feel like I’m gonna come home with him and be like, ‘What do I do?’ There’s not security there.’
‘I’m really scared to be a mom,’ she added. ‘I want to do it so perfect, but you know me, I’m a worrier.’
Brie called Bryan to share what Nikki had told her, and wonder how she would fare alone.
Being honest: ‘I’ll admit, Brie,’ Nikki began. ‘Without you, I’m f***ing scared. I feel like I’m gonna come home with him and be like, ‘What do I do?’ There’s not security there’
‘I know how to care for an infant, but I’ve never done it with a toddler running around,’ she lamented.
At lunch that week with their mom Kathy Laurinaitis, 56, the twins had to decide which of them she would go to after the baby’s birth.
Brie felt Kathy should head to Los Angeles for Nikki, as it was her first child.
Tough call: At lunch that week with their mom Kathy Laurinaitis, 56, the twins had to decide which of them she would go to after the baby’s birth
She wasn’t exactly happy about it, though.
‘You caused all this,’ Brie told her sister. ‘You and Artem just had a game plan from the beginning.’
In a confessional, Brie shared that the pair had put her on ‘a roller coaster ride’ during her pregnancy, always changing where they’d end up.
Game plan: ‘You caused all this,’ Brie told her sister. ‘You and Artem just had a game plan from the beginning’
‘They’re killing me,’ she explained. ‘It’s just chaotic. And now my mom won’t be here to see my baby because she’ll be in Los Angeles.’
Kathy urged her daughters to stay positive and remember the past eight ‘beautiful’ months they’d had together, which they might never have again.
The photo shoot helped the twins reconnect, as did a conversation Nikki had with her estranged brother JJ, whom she urged to look after Brie.
Stay positive: Kathy urged her daughters to stay positive and remember the past eight ‘beautiful’ months they’d had together, which they might never have again
As a sweet farewell, Nikki and Artem asked Brie and Birdie’s favorite ice cream truck to stop by their home with popsicles.
The twins then sat on Bird’s swing set in Brie’s backyard and said goodbye.
‘I don’t want to go,’ Nikki said.
Sweet treat: As a sweet farewell, Nikki and Artem asked Brie and Birdie’s favorite ice cream truck to stop by their home with popsicles
‘I don’t want you to go,’ Brie echoed.
They had a big hug with Artem and Bird before parting ways, each of them feeling sad.
‘I just really wanted to do this with her,’ Nikki told Artem, crying as their car pulled away. ‘I was excited.’
Total Bellas will return on January 7 on the E! network.
Taking off: ‘I just really wanted to do this with her,’ Nikki told Artem, crying as their car pulled away. ‘I was excited’