Simone Johnson’s Instagram official love story with Tatyanna Dumas has wrestling and Dwayne Johnson cheering
- Dwayne Johnson’s daughter Simone has gone Instagram official with fellow WWE NXT wrestler Tatyanna Dumas, turning a soft launch into a full scale trending relationship in one reel.
- The couple shared video snippets of travelling, eating out and kissing, with Simone adding a chaotic “crying screaming throwing up, I am so lucky” caption that did most of the emotional heavy lifting.
- Both women are rising performers on NXT, with Simone working as on screen general manager Ava Raine and Dumas pivoting from professional basketball and reality competitions into the ring.
- The new post lands after a London red carpet appearance with Dwayne for The Smashing Machine premiere and a cosy college football date at the University of Virginia.
- For United Kingdom readers and global fans, the moment feels like a perfect storm of celebrity relationship news, wrestling legacy and queer representation, all wrapped up in one smug couple reel.
The Instagram reel that turned a soft launch into a headline
“I am so lucky” in one very curated scroll
The relationship became officially official when Tatyanna uploaded a reel packed with travel clips, restaurant booths and quick kisses that looked suspiciously like a highlight reel of a very good year. Simone reposted it almost immediately, adding her own caption about crying, screaming and throwing up, which is modern internet code for being embarrassingly happy rather than actually unwell.
The timing was sharp, dropping while people were already doom scrolling lunchtime news and in the mood for something a bit cuter than economic forecasts. Within minutes the reel had been clipped, reposted and dissected, with fans pointing out matching outfits, repeated locations and the smug way they cling to each other like a brand new romcom poster.
From private couple content to shared fandom property
Before this week, the pair had existed in that grey zone where everyone sort of knew they were together, but nothing had been stamped with the magic words couple or girlfriend. The reel shifts that line completely, announcing them not just to wrestling obsessives who follow NXT every week, but to casual pop culture audiences who mainly know Simone as Dwayne Johnson’s oldest daughter.
Once something hits that crossover point, it stops being just personal documentation and becomes fandom property, which sounds terrifying but is also the point if you are building a public facing career. The couple seem fully aware of this, leaning into affectionate chaos rather than pretending they are simply very close friends who happen to share hotel rooms and matching posing chemistry.
Simone Johnson, Ava Raine and the family tradition
Four generations of wrestling behind one relationship post
Simone’s side of the story comes with heavy baggage in the best possible way, because she is the first fourth generation wrestler the company has ever seen. Her lineage runs from her father Dwayne back through Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia, which means the phrase family business carries a lot more suplexes than usual.
She started training with WWE’s developmental system in twenty twenty, slowly moving from promising trainee to fully fledged character on NXT under the name Ava Raine. That journey gives fans a built in narrative arc, because they have watched her go from legacy kid to person in control of her own on screen power, and now to someone building a very visible life off the mat as well.
Playing general manager on screen, writing her own script off screen
On NXT, Simone currently plays a general manager type role, making fictional decisions about who fights whom and when grudge matches explode. It is a neat fit for someone who grew up watching both the performance and business side of wrestling, and it lets her flex charisma without constantly landing on her spine.
Off screen, the Instagram reveal works like a personal storyline beat that she has chosen for herself rather than one scripted by producers. There is something very satisfying about a woman who is literally paid to book matches turning around and essentially booking her own relationship announcement on her terms, timing and caption style included.
Who exactly is Tatyanna Dumas
From Australian basketball courts to NXT entrances
Tatyanna’s path into this story is just as interesting, because she started out as a professional basketball player rather than a second generation wrestler. She has also popped up on physically punishing television formats including Gladiator and Ninja Warrior, which makes the WWE recruitment radar locking onto her feel almost inevitable.
By early twenty twenty five she had landed in the NXT system, bringing that mix of height, power and reality show experience that producers quietly love. Put simply, she already knows how to sell a challenge, a camera and a dramatic slow walk, which is half the battle before you even learn how to take a bump safely.
The appeal of a power couple who can both take a bump
Part of the instant fascination here is that this is not a famous person dating a civilian, but two people doing the same extremely strange job. They know about early call times, bruises you forget the origin of and the joy of wearing gear that looks incredible until you try to sit down in it.
That shared context gives their Instagram reel extra charm, because viewers can tell they are not just dressing up for the camera but living a life that involves airports, gyms and backstage corridors as much as dinners and sunsets. It feels more like a well deserved highlight reel than a carefully faked lifestyle, even if everything is still lit and filtered for maximum impact.
Red carpets, football games and the soft launch breadcrumbs
The London premiere where Dwayne happily third wheeled
For fans who pay attention, the reel is less of a shock and more of a confirmation, because Simone and Tatyanna have already walked a red carpet together. They appeared in London at the special screening of The Smashing Machine beside Dwayne himself, creating a family photo that looked suspiciously like a first public blessing.
Dwayne’s grin during that appearance did most of the talking, because it is impossible to miss how delighted he looks standing between his daughter and her girlfriend. The new Instagram post now retrofits that photo into an early chapter of the romance, turning what once looked like a friendly plus one into a fully canonised debut.
College football dates and quiet posts labelled “Thankful”
After London, Simone slid a shot of herself and Tatyanna at a University of Virginia football game into a wider holiday post that was conveniently easy to scroll past. At the time it read like a nice friendship moment, two women bundled up in stadium layers with their arms around each other, surrounded by the chaos of college sport.
Now that the relationship is out in the open, that one quiet picture feels like deliberate foreshadowing. It shows the couple in a more low key setting where nobody is in gear or full glam, which humanises them for fans who sometimes forget that wrestlers occasionally wear normal jeans and stand in muddy stands like the rest of us.
Why United Kingdom and global audiences are locked in
The Rock’s daughter plus queer romance equals instant click magnet
On a very basic level, any headline that combines Dwayne Johnson, his daughter and a new romance is going to perform well. Add the fact that this is a same sex relationship presented without apology, secrecy or coy euphemisms, and you get exactly the kind of story that cuts through the usual celebrity noise.
United Kingdom audiences in particular have a long running affection for wrestling families and reality style relationship arcs, which makes this an easy sell. It hits the sweet spot between wholesome and chaotic, with just enough legacy weight attached to keep it from feeling like a disposable fling designed only for engagement farming.
Representation in a still macho corner of entertainment
Wrestling has always had queer fans, but on screen representation has historically lagged behind, especially for women. Seeing two female performers living openly, framed as aspirational rather than punchline, is a quiet but meaningful shift for viewers who are used to reading between the lines.
There is also something powerful about this not being framed as a grand political statement, but simply as a very normal love story that happens to involve a lot of ring gear. That normalisation does a different kind of work, making it easier for younger fans to imagine futures where their favourite stars date people they genuinely like, rather than whoever looks tidiest on a traditional gossip column page.
What this means for WWE and the wider wrestling brand
NXT suddenly has the internet’s favourite couple
From a company perspective, having two charismatic young talents in a relationship is a marketing dream waiting to happen. NXT already leans heavily on social media to keep its audience engaged between episodes, and this provides a ready made storyline that exists in real life before it ever touches a script.
There is obvious potential for on screen alliances, joint interviews and the kind of backstage segments that fans clip, meme and share on loop. As long as the company respects their boundaries, it could become one of those rare instances where real romance and kayfabe cooperate instead of colliding messily.
The Rock as proud dad and unofficial hype machine
Dwayne has spoken many times about how proud he is of Simone for embracing the family tradition while still carving out her own path. That pride will almost certainly extend to her life outside the ropes, especially when she is choosing partners who understand the industry and support her schedule.
Even if he never posts a single comment, his mere association guarantees extra attention for anything related to Simone’s life. It is hard to think of a better built in hype machine than having one of the most recognisable entertainers on earth cheering you on from a respectful distance while you post couple reels.
Style, presentation and the art of the perfect couple reel
Travel, food and just enough kissing to break the internet
The reel itself follows a familiar structure, jumping between plane windows, city streets and restaurant tables in a way that says these two know how to pack a carry on. The kisses are brief but frequent enough to leave no doubt about what you are looking at, landing firmly in the sweet spot between romantic and slightly smug.
Outfits feel deliberately low key, heavy on relaxed athleisure, denim and comfortable jackets rather than full glam. That choice sells the idea that this is their default setting, saving the sequins and feathers for NXT entrances while using Instagram to show the off duty version of the duo.
How fans will copy the vibe without copying the life
The relationship might be impossible to copy exactly, unless you happen to have a spare wrestling dynasty and a contact at talent recruitment, but the aesthetic certainly is. Expect to see more couple reels built around little glimpses of travel, everyday meals and shared jokes that look almost throwaway until you notice how carefully they are edited.
United Kingdom fans in particular love blending sports, romance and travel content, which makes this reel an instant template. Swap the Florida sun for Manchester rain, trade the NXT arena for a local gym and you have the same basic script, minus the legacy title belts.
Where the story goes next
From trending topic to long running narrative
In the short term, this story will keep bouncing around timelines as other outlets pick it up, clip it and add their own slightly breathless headlines. The next big beats will probably be their next joint red carpet, their first shared interview and the inevitable questions about whether their relationship will ever become part of an actual on screen storyline.
Longer term, the more interesting angle is how they choose to manage visibility, balancing private life with the reality that fans now feel invested in their happiness. If they keep setting boundaries while still letting people in, they could become a model for how modern wrestling stars handle fame, romance and representation without burning out.
Why this couple will stay on mood boards into twenty twenty six
As the year wraps up, Simone and Tatyanna have quietly landed themselves on a lot of digital mood boards, whether for relationships, fitness or just general confidence. They look like two women who enjoy their work, enjoy each other and are not afraid to say so in large neon letters across the internet.
For fans in the United Kingdom and beyond, that mixture of strength, softness and complete refusal to hide is exactly what makes them so watchable. Wrestling has always been about larger than life characters, and right now one of its most compelling stories is simply two people in love, assembling their own highlight reel one clip at a time.