As they approach their 11th wedding anniversary, Bryan Danielson joined wife Brie Bella on her “Nikki & Brie Show” podcast for a deeply personal discussion about their 14 years as a couple, reflecting on the passage of time, marital challenges like depression, and the foundations of their enduring partnership.
“11 years Bryan, does it feel like you’ve been married to me for 11 years?” Brie asked. Danielson pondered, “It doesn’t seem like our marriage has been 11 years,” also noting their daughter Birdie turning eight soon feels surreal. “Where did the time go? I know. And they say that all the time. Parents say that all the time, but it’s like, now it’s happening to me, to us.” Brie added, “I have to say, it hasn’t felt that long… When I look in the mirror, I’m like, Well, clearly I don’t look like Brie that started dating Bryan… but it feels like it’s gone fast.” Danielson found the length of their relationship remarkable: “It’s weird to think that we have been together in our adult lives longer than we weren’t together at this point… from 18 until now. That’s crazy.”
When Brie asked for his favorite memory – “besides our honeymoon” – Danielson initially recalled a specific incident, “I mean, do you know what the you know I remember most… about our honeymoon… when you lost the keys,” but focused on the significance of shared, simple experiences. “Gosh, the things that I’ve very that I’ve really cherished are just the everyday things,” he explained. “Like, I love the double hugs, when the kids get super excited and we give him, like, a big, double hug.” He vividly described carrying their son, Buddy, together from school: “He wanted you to carry him, but he also wanted me to, like, hug you as we’re walking… Not only was buddy being carried, he was being carried by both of us, and he was just so happy.” He finds more meaning there than in singular highlights: “When we were both double cuddling buddy in his super tiny bed the other night… those are the moments as to why here we are 14 years in, and I still love you so much.” Brie affirmed, “It’s those moments that we rejoice so much that I feel like makes our marriage really great, because we cherish those parts.”
The conversation candidly addressed challenges, including Danielson’s depression. “I would actually put it on myself, as far as like, my depression would be something that I think negatively impacts our relationship, or it feels like it does sometimes,” he stated openly. Brie shared her learning curve: “I mean it definitely was very hard in the beginning… I wanted to be the clown and make you happy,” she recalled. She described getting crucial advice from a doctor while Danielson was undergoing brain scans: “It was the doctor who… was talking to me, and ‘it’s what you need to work on, is how do you cope and go on with your life when he’s there?’ And I just was like, oh, you know, I was working overtime, just trying to make him happy, and I just wanted to see a smile or something, but it was, like, interesting.” Brie explained how that perspective shift helped: “Now it’s like, when I see you’re in it, it’s like, easy for me. Like, it doesn’t feel hard… granted, like, is it still hard? Yes, but I have such a great understanding and know how to do it. And so it’s like, you just got to do the work.” Danielson acknowledged the toll it takes: “It’s hard for the significant other of somebody who who’s experiencing depression, right?”
Both credited their teamwork and willingness to evolve. “You and I act as a team, and I think that that’s maybe where the… falls in a lot of relationships,” Danielson suggested. Brie praised him: “Parenting is not easy for anybody ever,” before clarifying, “Well, no, you make it easy. Is what I should have said.” They discussed adapting, like Brie accepting Bryan’s social anxieties: “I tried to force Bryan so much in the beginning… because I always wanted to be with me. But then it’s like I got to a point where I realized his social anxieties… I finally let go.” Danielson added, “As you are changing, as I am changing, our relationship is changing… we can’t hold ourselves to the same expectations that we had from 14 years ago.”
Finally, Danielson stressed ongoing appreciation: “How often, after being together for 14 years, do we tell our relatives, our friends or whatever. ‘Oh my gosh, my wife is this amazing person?’ Because you get so used to how amazing you are, that it becomes commonplace… regularly reminding yourself or noticing… ‘Oh my gosh. Like, my wife’s a rock star’… the rock star part of you is the way you are with the kids, the way you are with people, the way I greatly appreciate… being with somebody else when I’m experiencing depression.” Brie added the importance of verbal gratitude: “I feel like we both do a great job at telling each other how much those acts of kindness mean.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Nikki & Brie Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
