Buddy Matthews reveals what he told Rhea Ripley about her ex-boyfriend

Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews are one of pro wrestling's most beloved real-life couples. Currently representing WWE and AEW, respectively, Ripley and Matthews were engaged to be married in August 2023, then they tied the knot last June. Buddy is now opening up on an interesting encounter they had while in NXT.

The Eradicator and The Best Kept Secret began dating in 2022, but Ripley was familiar with Matthews from the Australian indies. Matthews joined WWE in March 2013 and was released on June 2, 2021. He debuted with AEW in late February 2022, while Ripley was making her name in WWE after signing in July 2017.

Buddy Matthews spoke to Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT and recalled how Rhea Ripley watched him on the Australian indies while he was working as a heel, and he was not her favorite at all. The happy couple realized years later, while planning their wedding, that they just missed each other when Buddy moved to the United States and Rhea started with his former promotion.

"My last show in Adelaide was her first show, she worked for the merch, and she started working that show. I moved to America, started NXT. When she came to NXT, I went to 205 Live. I had maybe one interaction with her, which I had to tell her something about her, uh, partner, at the time, because he was rubbing some people the wrong way. So I had to go, 'Yeah, just maybe don't bring him in anymore.' So, that was our only interaction," Matthews said. [From 8:03 to 8:37]

Buddy Matthews continued:

"Then she started doing her NXT thing, but then I was kind of on 205, and then I got called to SmackDown, then she got called to RAW [for the Charlotte Flair feud during the pandemic], so she just kind of came up when I left, so she got called up full-time to RAW when I was released. She's constantly been chasing me, and then, yeah... the rest is history. So, I was one step ahead of her, [laughs] and now she's 27 steps ahead of me," Buddy Matthews said. [From 8:38 to 9:15]

Rhea Ripley was never engaged until this relationship, but Buddy Matthews was engaged to Alexa Bliss at one point. Their engagement ended in September 2018, but they remained friends.

Buddy Matthews says he's Rhea Ripley's biggest supporter

Buddy Matthews and Rhea Ripley often put each other over on social media, despite one working for WWE and the other for AEW. Buddy had nothing but praise for his wife while speaking to Chris Van Vliet.

"I'm her biggest supporter. Normally, a lot of people think I get jealous of it, like, 'She's a megastar, you're this and...' Bro, she deserves that, she deserves more. There's no amount of money she doesn't deserve. She works harder than anyone I've ever, ever witnessed," Matthews said. [From 9:17 to 9:37]

Buddy Matthews continued:

"In the gym, putting stuff together, just how she deals with fans, just being... because she's a very sheltered and shy person, deep down, but she puts it on, man, and she changes people's lives, and that's one of the things that I just absolutely love about her, is that she is just the chillest, coolest person... she does everything, and I strive to be like her," Matthews said. [From 9:38 to 10:04]

Buddy Matthews and Rhea Ripley have never teamed up in the ring. Fans have called for the two to work for the same company, but Matthews reportedly re-signed with AEW last summer.