Why Nikki And Brie Bella Changed Their Last Name (And Then Went Back To Garcia)

Nikki Garcia and her twin sister Brie Garcia spent nearly two decades working in the World Wrestling Entertainment world going by the last name Bella. Long before joining the WWE in 2008, the ladies were living in Scottsdale, Arizona, on a farm. Going by their birth names, Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace and Brianna Garcia-Colace, the twins navigated a challenging childhood and moved to California together at the age of 17. They played soccer throughout their younger years, which gave Nikki an opportunity to play at Grossmont College. Though she was recruited to play professionally in Italy, Brie talked her into giving wrestling a try instead. The twins worked together at Hooters for a while, and in 2006, the "Garcia Twins" tried out for the WWE Diva Search. 

The twins did not score a WWE contract that first year via Diva Search, but they tried again in 2007. That time, they landed a deal with the WWE's developmental organization, Florida Championship Wrestling, and by 2008, both women were moved up to WWE Raw. Brie entered the ring first, and soon after, Nikki appeared. They competed as The Bella Twins, a name they came up with themselves, and embarked on a successful career in the industry. 

Nikki Garcia and Brie Garcia auditioned for the WWE using their real last name but changed it once they started competing. Brie explained to Kevin Hart for the LOL! Network that they toyed with different wrestling names before choosing to honor their grandfather with their stage name pick. She mentioned their grandfather had not liked the idea of them wrestling, and after he died, they felt drawn to pursuing it anyway. On their SiriusXM podcast "The Nikki & Brie Show," Nikki revealed their grandfather, "Pop-Pop," had often referred to them as "my bellas," which inspired their new professional last name.

In March, Nikki and Brie announced they were going back to using Garcia. Nikki explained that when their WWE contracts came up for renewal, they wanted to make a change, saying, "Mutually, we all knew that we just needed to head into this new chapter." She noted they were about to turn 40 and were focused on a handful of projects outside of the WWE, and making a change felt right. Brie added she was "so excited to close that chapter on Brie Bella, put that book to the side, and open up a new one." The twins also posted their announcement on Twitter, writing, "Hi I'm Nikki Garcia, Hi I'm Brie Garcia. And we're the Garcia Twins. Welcome to our next chapter!" The video voiceover detailed the change was about "Owning who we are, being unapologetically us, and fiercely walking through that open door."

Nikki Garcia and Brie Garcia expanded on dropping Bella when talking with E! News. "People are so confused. It's because we haven't gotten to fully tell our truth," Nikki admitted. The former wrestlers explained, "The WWE owns the name The Bella Twins. They own that IP [intellectual property]." By ending their contract with the WWE, "you take that chance by walking away that they're going to take their IPs, which, business-wise, makes total sense." Nikki added, "Bella represented our Italian heritage, Garcia represents our Mexican heritage. How blessed in one lifetime we get to represent both heritages."

After the name change news emerged, the women talked about the reactions from fans on "The Nikki & Brie Show." Some wondered why they hadn't changed to their legal, married last names, Chigvintsev for Nikki and Danielson for Brie. Nikki explained, "We love our husbands, and they will always have that, especially on our driver's licenses and everything legal." However, since the women planned to continue working in entertainment, they considered that they had built a brand as twins. Ultimately, they decided that moving forward with the same last name as one another seemed the right move. Nikki also shared their father was "super happy" over their decision to go back to Garcia. "Our dad, right now, is doing backflips. Why not go back to our roots? We love our Mexican culture, so let's go back to Garcia and how everyone knew us," she added.