Sometimes the stuff you see on WWE television is actually a reflection of what's going on in real-life. Although a bulk majority of WWE's storylines are entirely fictitious in the grand scheme of things considering professional wrestling is a work. It is meant for entertainment, on occasion, some of the storylines or angles aren't too far off from the truth. Now as I'm sure most of you can agree, Sports Entertainment has a fancy for on-screen couples (especially the WWE). Most couples are completely kayfabe and the wrestlers involved are dating/married to different people behind the scenes. But occasionally what's displayed on television is actually real backstage in their personal lives.
It's also not hard to believe that certain wrestler's real-life partners become jealous due to these on-screen pairings. Throughout history, it was not uncommon for things to actually "get real" with time. As I've mentioned before, professional wrestling is a tough business that puts a heck of a lot of strain on outside relationships due to their continuous never-ending schedules. Many relationships within the WWE form as a result. Today's list focuses in on 15 wrestling angles that made their off-screen lovers jealous, and though some stopped at a bit of playful jealousy, more times than not, their real-life off screen relationships fizzled out. This is mainly due to the Superstars actually cheating on their off-screen lovers with their television "partners".
15 15. Luke Gallows And Dana Brooke (Amber O'Neil)
Although some fans might not have known that Luke Gallows had an off-screen lover, he in fact did and her name was Amber O'Neil - a woman Gallows worked with extensively as apart of The Bullet Club in NJPW up until Luke left Japan to return to the WWE in 2016. Luke Gallows had been married to Amber since 2014, but a WWE angle back in 2016 involving Gallows/Anderson and Dana Brooke was the cause of some issues in Gallows and O'Neil's relationship.
Gallows' wife wasn't at all pleased with this angle (she was jealous of Gallows spending time with another woman), and she ripped into Dana on social media for all to see. O'Neil would later claim that it was all a work, but it's become known to the wrestling community that just a few months following the angle, Luke and Amber split up.
14 14. Carmella And James Ellsworth (Big Cass)
The most recent wrestling angle that made a wrestler's off-screen lover jealous was none other than the weird partnership between the Women's Money In The Bank briefcase holder Carmella, and the chinless James Ellsworth over on SmackDown Live. The bizarre angle began back in January 2017 when Ellsworth started accompanying Carmella wherever she desired. They remained an on-screen pairing until November 2017 (when Ellsworth was released from the WWE).
During their storyline, James and Carmella were involved in countless backstage segments, and James even smooched with "the Princess Of Staten Island". Although their relationship was completely scripted, Big Cass definitely did feel jealous considering all the time Ellsworth was spending with Carmella on SmackDown Live while he was stuck on Raw. Cass even joked by saying that he was going to "toss him a beating" and that he "better not see him around here".
13 13. John Cena And Mickie James (Elizabeth Huberdeau)
As I'm sure most of you can recall, John Cena was involved in a love angle with Mickie James back in 2008. They both took part in multiple flirty backstage segments. If you weren't aware, at the time of this playful storyline, John Cena was with Elizabeth Huberdeau - a woman he married just one year later in 2009 (his high school sweetheart).
Although this on-screen angle seemed all in good fun, the great chemistry Mickie and John had was realer than most had originally thought. Now even if things were all in good fun, I'm sure Elizabeth wasn't at all pleased with him being so "close" to Mickie, and as it turns out, John Cena ended up cheating on Elizabeth with Mickie James which is truly unfortunate. John and Huberdeau divorced in 2012, and Cena's now married to former Divas Champion, Nikki Bella.
12 12. Lita And Edge (Matt Hardy)
Like I've mentioned before, Matt Hardy is pretty unlucky when it comes to off-screen relationships with WWE's Women's Division wrestlers. In this particular case, he was caught in the middle of a "love triangle" between himself, Lita and Edge. When Matt Hardy injured his knee in the summer months of 2004, this temporarily separated Lita from her real-life lover Matt while he underwent the surgery and recovery time he needed.
However, as we've all since learned, this spelled doom for their off-screen relationship, as Lita began cheating on Matt with one of his best friends, Edge. Prior to the whole cheating scandal that would end up driving Hardy somewhat crazy, Edge and Lita were apart of an on-screen WWE angle, as Lita was performing as Edge's valet or manager when Hardy was injured, hence why Matt would've been jealous prior to knowing what had truly went on between the two.
11 11. Stacy Keibler And Scott Steiner (Test)
Whenever there's an angle involving "Big Poppa Pump" and a women's wrestler, then you'd know jealousy from the women's wrestlers off-screen lover would ensue. In this particular case, Scott Steiner's on-screen angle with Stacy Keibler (Test's real-life girlfriend). Although the storyline also involved Test to some extent, the amount of time Steiner and Keibler spent together at the initial stage of the storyline must've made Test extremely jealous.
As we all know, the whole angle began after Test started to verbally abuse Stacy on WWE television, and she decided to manage "Big Poppa Pump" instead. However, Scott Steiner and Test would end up getting on the same track as they both shared an appreciation for being abusive towards Keibler (all storyline of course), and they ended up sharing Stacy for a short period of time on-screen before the angle was dropped in early December 2003.
10 10. Kurt Angle And Stephanie McMahon (Triple H)
If you can believe, it was rumoured that Triple H was legitimately jealous of Kurt Angle's on-screen angle with Stephanie McMahon in 2000 - the love triangle storyline between the three of them. If you weren't aware, the whole angle was apparently cut short because Triple H didn't feel as though fans would "believe" Stephanie would leave him for Kurt Angle (there's that ego for you). But in reality, I'm sure it all stemmed from jealousy considering the type of angle it was (Kurt being close to Steph), and because it acted as an opportunity for Angle to rise above Hunter's level of stardom.
At the time of this storyline, the love triangle was considered to be the hottest angle the WWE was doing, and many were disappointed with the way it ended (Stephanie siding with HHH anti-climatically).
9 9. Melina And Batista (John Morrison)
Although this wasn't really an "angle" per se, the fact remains Melina and Batista shared a few noteworthy SmackDown segments together on-screen, most notably smooching backstage in 2005. However, before things actually got "serious" between Batista and Melina, it's not hard to imagine that Melina's real-life boyfriend at the time (and fellow WWE Superstar) John Morrison was jealous of their obvious chemistry during these steamy segments.
It would later come out that Batista was actually having an affair with Melina, and this ended up ruining Morrison's and Melina's real-life relationship. To top it all off, it was rumoured that Vince McMahon was angry at John Morrison for not confronting Batista after he found out about the affair, and this probably played a role in why Morrison never moved above the upper mid-card.
8 8. Vince McMahon And Trish Stratus (Linda McMahon)
Among the multiple wrestling angles involving Vince McMahon and some of the company's hottest Divas, Vince's storyline in 2001 with Trish Stratus as his mistress has to rank as the angle that made Vince's off-screen lover Linda McMahon the most jealous. Although Linda was clearly in on this angle, the fact that Vince passionately made out with Trish in front of Linda in a wheelchair on SmackDown must've made Linda jealous (or downright angry).
The make-out session in front of Linda wasn't the only time McMahon's lips touched Trish's, as they were involved in more than one "steamy" backstage segment - some believe Stratus's willingness to smooch up to the boss helped play an instrumental role in why she had a Hall Of Fame career as a Women's Division wrestler. Regardless, I'm sure Linda wasn't too thrilled with any of Vince's love affair storylines, especially Trish's.
7 7. Edge And Lita (Lisa Ortiz)
Although Matt Hardy's relationship with Lita ended in disaster following Edge's affair with his fiance, Edge did not come out of the situation clean either, that's for sure! In mid 2005, Edge began an on-screen relationship angle with Lita after Lita turned on her kayfabe "husband" Kane, and like Matt Hardy, Edge's newly wed lover Lisa Ortiz must've felt very jealous at first considering Edge's chemistry with Lita, and because of the amount of time they were spending together on the road and on-screen.
It was later revealed that Edge had been cheating on his wife Lisa, and this resulted in Edge's divorce from Ortiz in November 2005 - just over one year of marriage. However, Edge's and Lita's relationship didn't last very long, and they ended up going their separate ways not too long after the cheating scandal was brought into the light.
6 6. Ashley Massaro And Paul London (Matt Hardy)
Without question, Matt Hardy has to rank among the most unluckiest guys when it comes to relationships, as he's been burned on more than one occasion unfortunately. If you hadn't known, Matt Hardy dated the 2005 WWE Diva Search winner Ashley Massaro between 2005-2006, and like the rest of the entries on this list, an on-screen WWE angle with Ashley and Brian Kendrick/Paul London not only made Matt jealous, but it also caused a riff in his and Massaro's real-life relationship.
When Ashley was moved to SmackDown, she became the new manager for the tag team of Brian Kendrick and Paul London - and yes, things got "real" between Paul London and Massaro. Ashley would end up breaking up with Matt in favour of London. To this day, there's still bad blood between Hardy and Paul even though London's relationship with Massaro was short lived as well.
5 5. Triple H And Sable (Marc Mero)
If you've since forgotten, the lovely Sable made her official WWE debut back in March 1996 as Triple H's valet for his match-up against The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII, in which he lost in just 90 seconds. Despite the fact that Sable was only with Triple H on-screen for a short period of time before aligning with her real-life husband at the time Marc Mero, I'm sure Marc felt a bit of jealousy for Sable showing HHH so much attention even if it is just a work.
Sable would eventually align herself with Mero, as the angle ended after Marc witnessed Sable getting mistreated by "Hunter Hearst Helmsley" backstage, thus causing Mero to attack HHH and take Sable as his valet/manager. Sable was definitely an extraordinarily beautiful woman, and I'm certain Triple H legitimately flirted with Sable while they were partnered adding further jealousy to Marc Mero.
4 4. Wesley Blake And Alexa Bliss (Sarah Lee)
Prior to becoming "The Goddess Of WWE" and a 4-time Women's Champion, Alexa Bliss initially found herself down in NXT managing the Blake and Murphy tag team. Bliss performed her role perfectly, and she was the perfect villain heel to bring heat to the duo. Compared to some of the other examples on this list, Bliss' angle with Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy wasn't the type to "end relationships" thankfully enough.
However, considering Wesley Blake got a ton of attention from one of the hottest women in the WWE today, I'm sure his real-life wife Sarah Lee (former developmental star) was jealous and far from pleased because of this. To add to this, judging by the photo above, it doesn't seem like Buddy Murphy (Alexa Bliss' real-life fiancee) is too happy about Bliss hanging onto Wesley's arm.
3 3. Mickie James And John Cena (Kenny Dykstra)
On the flip side of the same coin, the whole "John Cena and Mickie James" drama didn't just affect John, but is also affected Mickie James and it affected her relationship with Kenny Dykstra who is the man she was engaged to at the time. Now unlike Cena's wife Elizabeth Huberdeau, at the time of the "flirty" backstage segments between Cena and Mickie, Kenny Dykstra was already engaged to James hence why it must've bothered Kenny even more - there's no doubt he was jealous considering his soon-to-be wife was constantly surrounded by the biggest star in the WWE, a guy with a huge amount of pull backstage. As soon as Kenny found out about their affair, that instantly ended his and Mickie's relationship, and he was released by the WWE shortly afterwards - Kenny believes John Cena cost him his job.
2 2. Triple H And Stephanie McMahon (Chyna)
Triple H and Chyna were a very popular pairing back in the WWE's Attitude Era, without question. They complimented each other in DX, and Chyna made Hunter seem like a bigger deal - to top it off, Triple H was dating Chyna behind the scenes as well. However, things obviously weren't meant to be between Chyna and Hunter, as an angle involving Triple H and Stephanie McMahon getting married was the beginning of the end to their relationship.
At first, it was nothing more than a storyline, so playful jealousy obviously ensued for Chyna as is normal when real life partners are involved in a marriage storyline with an attractive (and powerful) woman. Apparently Hunter and Steph began developing real feelings for one another following their on-screen storyline. Their relationship ended, and Steph's and Hunters officially started with Chyna getting released as added insult to injury.
1 1. CM Punk And AJ Lee (Lita)
One of the most popular Superstars of all time, CM Punk found himself in an angle involving the gorgeous AJ Lee back in 2012. After deciding to turn her affections to CM Punk following her on-screen relationship with the former World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, AJ began helping CM Punk thus building up Punk's and Bryan's feud - though AJ Lee would end up turning on them both. At the time of this angle, CM Punk was dating fellow WWE star Lita, and without question, she must've felt jealousy because of the whole angle.
Punk began dating AJ Lee later that year. After about a year of dating, Punk married AJ Lee in June 2014. This is yet another example of a wrestling angle turning out to be true in real life, causing jealousy at first for the wrestler's lover, followed by heartbreak.