Demi Bennett, who goes by Rhea Ripley as her ring name, is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the Raw brand and is a member of Judgement Day.
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She has won several titles and recognitions, such as Raw Women’s Champion, NXT UK Women’s Champion, NXT Women’s Champion, and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion — making her the only person who has held all four titles. Ripley is also the first female Australian champion in WWE.
Being one of the most successful female wrestlers, Ripley has been getting a lot of attention from fans. Her followers were curious about a lot of things about her, even her sexuality.
So? Is Rhea Ripley gay?
VOTE: What is Rhea Ripley’s Sexuality?
Rhea Ripley’s Current Relationship — Is She Dating Anyone?
WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley is in a relationship with AEW star Buddy Matthews. The pair started going out in mid-2022. The two, who had been rumored to be in a relationship, confirmed the romance by making it Instagram official. Ripley posted a photo of them together, with her hugging the former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion while planting a big smooch on his head.
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She had been flexing her boyfriend on social media ever since, calling him her happiness.
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The relationship between the two was still going strong if you based it on their socials. Ripley shared a photo of Matthews on her Instagram stories with the caption:
Makes my heart flutter every day of the year.”
Rhea Ripley’s Dating History
Before her relationship with Matthews, Ripley dated independent wrestler Demetri Jackson, whose real name is Kelvin. The pair met at the gym and were good friends before they started dating. They confirmed their relationship in October 2019. Jackson was still new to professional wrestling at that time.
So, we actually met in the gym. I think he knew that I was a wrestler, but he had been wrestling for two months. He was the new guy at my gym. I was very lonely at that time. I made friends with all the staff members at my gym because I didn’t want to go home; there wasn’t anything there for me.”
Rhea Ripley recalled
Ripley also revealed that she wanted to help Jackson, who was a rookie on the field. He, however, refused her help as he wanted to succeed on his own.
Kevin – he goes by Demetri – he’s only been wrestling for, I want to say a year-and-a-half – two years, so that’s not very long. He’s still pretty green and still has a lot to learn, but he learns super fast. I’ve been trying to help him along the way. We’ll watch matches and I’ll sort of break it down for him and explain things. I’m always there for him ’cause I want him to succeed. He’s been straight on not wanting too much of my help ’cause he wants to succeed on his own; he doesn’t want me to give him anything, which I appreciate.”
Ripley shared
The duo broke up in 2022 for unknown reasons.
Aside from Buddy Matthews and Demetri Jackson — who were Rhea Ripley’s most prominent relationships, the former Raw Women’s Champion was also romantically linked to other wrestlers. They are as follows.
Ripley was linked to former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan. Early in 2022, both women joined forces to chase the Women’s Tag Team Championships. The pair were very close, plus their chemistry was so strong that some fans started to speculate that they were dating. Or wished they should.
In April 2022, WWE India Twitter posted a photo of them together which made fans gush.
They’re for sure dating.”
one fan commented
Idk if they were dating or not but they should. They looked like they were meant for each other.”
another fan wrote
There was no truth about the dating rumors though, as they were really just close friends.
The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion was also linked to former WWE United States Champion Damian Priest. The two had been friends for a very long time and their apparent closeness had sparked dating rumors between them. Some fans really thought they were dating that when Ripley confirmed her relationship with Buddy Matthews, her fans were genuinely shocked.
I’m just randomly thinking about this but why before it was announced that Rhea Ripley was dating buddy Matthews I thought she was with Damian Priest.”
a fan wrote
Ripley talked about her closeness with Priest, as well as the rest of the boys, in an interview with Metro.
It’s insane. I get along with them boys so well – even Priest, we’ve been friends for so long now. We’ve always talked about wanting to do an inter-gender tag match together, we are so similar. I wore the dude’s gear when I lost my gear, that’s how similar we are!”
Ripley told Metro
The current NXT UK Women’s Champion was also rumored to be dating former WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion Dominik Mysterio. Rumors about them dating started when Mysterio betrayed his father, Rey Mysterio, to join Judgement Day — Ripley’s group.
Ripley, who seems to have control over Dominik, claimed to have turned him into a man. The two had an undeniable on-screen relationship that fans started shipping them together.
The two were, of course, not dating, as Ripley is in a relationship with Buddy Matthews and Mysterio has had a girlfriend for about a year, too.
On Using a Gay Slur and Disappointing the LGBTQ Community
The WWE wrestler was under fire for using a gay slur during her livestream way back in 2019. In a clip taken from her livestream, Ripley can be seen calling a fan a “stupid motherf***ing fag**t.” The gimmick of the said live stream is fans could tip $15 to receive an insult in Spanish or Australian slang. And Ripley used a gay slur in insulting one of the tippers.
The wrestling star, who met online backlash because of the incident, was quick to apologize.
Demi Bennett speaking here.”
Ripley posted on Twitter, using her real name
I know a lot of you are upset with me after tonight, but I just want to (publicly) say that I am sorry. My brain to mouth filter came down for a second and I forgot that some words are a big no no to a lot of people. I am a firm believer that everyone should be treated equally, whether that be race or sexual orientation. With that said, I just wanted to say how dearly sorry I am to everyone that was offended by my choice of words tonight.”
the wrestling champion clarified
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 pic.twitter.com/A9eHvfjLZz
— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) April 25, 2019
Is Rhea Ripley Gay?
No, Rhea Ripley is not gay. All the relationships she had were with the opposite sex. She never said anything about being lesbian or bisexual either. So there was really no reason for fans to assume that she was not straight.