Dave Bautista is truly a romantic at heart!
The former WWE champion turned actor has been tearing through Hollywood, and his next hope is to become the love interest in a rom-com.
The role would suit him well, considering the actor has quite the experience in romance.
Before he became known as “The Animal” to fans of World Wrestling Entertainment, Dave Bautista had already met and married his first wife.
In his autobiography, ‘Batista Unleashed,’ the actor said that he met Glenda in the latter half of 1989.
He was 21 years old when he and his ex-wife got married. Glenda allegedly fell pregnant two weeks into her relationship with the now-retired wrestler.
The ex-couple was married for eight years. They divorced in 1998, shortly before Bautista’s wrestling career kicked off. They share two daughters, Keilani and Athena.
We’re unsure of the actor’s relationship with his ex-wife, but we imagine they’ve gotten used to co-parenting by now because they’re grandparents too!
Bautista found love again the same year he got divorced. The ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’ star’s relationship with Angie was a rollercoaster of emotions.
The former pair allegedly met at a bar where she worked. That’s where their love story started, and dare we say, it hasn’t actually ended.
No, they’re not together, but we have a feeling they still love each other very much!
Much like his first marriage, the actor’s second ended after eight years. According to Dave, the union crumbled because of his career ambitions and desire to put wrestling before family.
The former pair got divorced in 2006. After the divorce was settled, Bautista’s former wife gave birth to their son, Oliver.
Dave and Angie still have a very good relationship, and not just because of co-parenting.
While they were married, the brunette was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. As she fought through and survived the disease, the ex-wrestler was by her side, even after the divorce.
The actor took on 'Batista vs. Cancer,' a campaign to raise awareness and finances towards research on ovarian cancer.
In 2010, he released a video on YouTube about how he hates cancer, urging people to donate to the cause.
“This is the best I could do to really help Angie and show that I was in the fight with her,” Dave explained.
Even though his marriage with his second wife didn’t work out, it’s clear that they share a deep connection, even if it’s no longer romantic.
“Dave and I have a great relationship — I couldn’t have gotten this far without him,” Angie once shared.
By the time his second divorce happened, Batista had cemented himself as a wrestling champion.
He was doing so well in sports entertainment that the star became the subject of wild rumors.
One such rumor was the cheating scandal about Bautista, his second wife, and former WWE Diva, Melina.
According to the rumors, the star had been having an affair with Melina while married to Angie. It all went so far as to blame this scandal for Bautista’s divorce.
Perez discussed these rumors, explaining that she and “The Animal” began their relationship as friends.
Both WWE champions were allegedly bullied by other wrestlers when coming up through the ranks.
Melina said that Dave would stand up for her, and eventually, people assumed there was more to the relationship.
She was bitter about how the public reached these conclusions, as if a man and woman are always romantically linked and can never be friends.
Eventually, their friendship became more, but as the “Dune” actor clarified in his autobiography, they only dated after his divorce.
Dave was all about the office romance after his second divorce and dated a few other Divas along with Melina. In 2006, the actor was an item with Rebecca DiPietro, a former Playboy model who briefly turned wrestler.
Then, in 2008, Bautista returned to Perez before moving on to the higher-profile diva, Kelly Kelly.
The following year saw the star dating yet another diva, Rosa Mendes. The couple only dated for a few months.
It's also rumored that he had flings with Layla El, Taryn Terrell, and Shelly Martinez.
After a few years in the dating pool, Dave had tied the knot once again. He announced in 2015 that he married Sarah Jade by posting lovely pictures on his socials.
Allegedly, the two had been dating for a few years, and their reception was an intimate outdoor ceremony in front of family and friends.
Their marriage lasted just four years, with the couple heading toward divorce in 2020.
When the romance was still alive, the actor had Jade’s name tattooed on his ring finger. The ink has since been covered up, and Dave even commented on it.
Neither of the former pair has spoken publicly about what led to the end of their marriage. To date, Sarah’s only comment came as a reply to an Instagram comment asking what happened.
Some assumed that the relationship didn’t work out because of the age-gap between the pair. According to reports, Sarah is 35 years old. This makes her 19 years younger than Dave.
The other speculation is that this marriage failed for the same reason as the first two: Bautista is very career-focused.
During his marriage to Sarah, ‘The Animal’ had laid down his WWE championship belts, leaving them for the next generation of sports entertainers.
After retiring from wrestling, Dave could now focus all his attention on his newfound love, acting.
“It’s this puzzle that I can’t figure out,” Bautista told GQ magazine of his career change.
“You don’t know if it’s right, but sometimes it feels right. I don’t get those moments a lot, but every once in a while, I do. And to me, there’s nothing like it,” he added.
Since the start of his acting career, the 54-year-old has been perfecting his art and securing better roles.
Bautista started with small acting gigs and, at some point, even lost his house because the career switch was initially challenging.
Then, the muscle man received news that he was cast as ‘Drax’ in Marvel’s ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy.’ The role in the Marvel franchise changed everything for Dave.
He went from small roles to being an actor that's in-demand!
As of 2023, the Washington native has shown us he has what it takes to be a leading man.
Bautista stars in ‘Knock at the Cabin,’ a mystery-horror film directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
Critics have met the film with relatively positive reviews.
The director of the film, himself, had good words to share about the ex-wrestler’s performance.
Even Rian Johnson , the director of ‘Glass Onion,’ believes this action star is destined for towering heights.
The 54-year-old has been navigating the waters of movie stardom with a mystery woman by his side.
In 2021, Dave told Men's Health magazine he had been seeing someone, but he declined to name her.
According to the ‘Army of Thieves’ star, his unnamed lover just gets him. They met while making a film, he said, so she understands the business and the limitations it brings to his personal life.
It looks like ‘The Animal’ has found someone who can work around his bustling career and crazy schedule!
Bautista’s new goal is to star in a romantic comedy! The actor would love to show off his softer side but has never been offered a role.
Even though the thought might stir insecurity within the action star, we know he won’t let go of this dream anytime soon.
Well, a rom-com starring this muscle man would be a great idea! From his performances in ‘Stuber’ and ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,’’ we know he has the acting skills and comedy down!
Surely his relationship experience has taught him one or two things about romance! Don’t even get started on those muscles…
Dave Bautista is way more than just his chiseled, massive physique.
He’s a man with a dream, an actor with skills, and a hopeless romantic underneath all those tattoos.
We hope all goes well with his mystery woman, and our fingers are crossed to see him as the leading man in a rom-com!