- - Nikki Garcia Claps Back After Critics Call Her Out for Kissing Her Son Matteo, 5, on the Lips

Kayla GrantJanuary 16, 2026 at 1:07 AM

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Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Nikki Garcia/Instagram

Nikki Garcia and her son -

Nikki Garcia, formerly known as Nikki Bella, is responding to criticism she's received on social media

The WWE star said that it's "so weird" that people were responding negatively to her kissing her son on the lips

The boy mom first became a mom in 2020 with Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev

Nikki Garcia is responding to recent backlash she received about kissing her son on the lips.

During the Thursday, Jan. 15 episode of The Nikki and Brie Show, the 42-year-old WWE star, formerly known as Nikki Bella, opened up about some of the negative comments she received after sharing a photo of herself kissing her 5-year-old son, Matteo.

"It's so weird. I mean, there were quite a few reasons why I turned my comments off on that post, and it just goes to show why I don't put my son on social media," she said, adding that even though there weren't a lot of comments, there was enough to bother her.

"It was enough to bug me where like, 'I can't believe she kisses her son on the lips, he's 5,' and I'm like, dude, I can't believe you're so bothered by it and annoyed. That's crazy to me."

The doting mom, who welcomed her son in 2020 with Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev, said that the comments "felt so rude," adding she's "so over the people" who comment on her son.

"It's weird when people put opinions on your kids and ... this is why I don't post him because I love my kid to death and do you think I want to read this stuff about him?" she said. "But the kissing thing was so annoying to me and just bothersome."

"First of all, I love my son so much and I feel bad if your kid wants to kiss you on the lips and you tell him no. I think that's sad because I don't know what that would do to them mentally," she added. "In that photo that’s on the cover photo, Matteo, that was his first time seeing Lego Santa, just the Lego version. He got so excited, so the lady was just taking photos."

She went on to explain that in that moment, her son grabbed her and gave her a big kiss on the lips. Garcia called the moment with her son the "cutest thing" because of how "excited and grateful" he was to see Lego Santa.

"It was such a great moment, and then, you know, when he popped in on our last episode and we gave him kisses, people were putting that on Twitter, like, 'I can't believe she asked him for a kiss,' " she said. "I'm like, 'You're wild.'"

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When she became a mother, Total Divas star told PEOPLE it was something she's "dreamed of my whole life."

"It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “I can’t imagine life without being a mom and experiencing the miracle of life and raising a child. I’m just so family-oriented that I couldn’t imagine not having that family life.”

Having Matteo has made Garcia realize just how “selfless” she can be. In 2023, the retired wrestler told PEOPLE, “You're just willing to give it all up for this one special human being."

Chigvintsev and Garcia wed two years after Matteo was born. However, the dancer's arrest on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse ultimately led Bella to file for divorce in September 2024.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”