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Reliving Triple H and Stephanie McMahon’s Rebellious WWE Love Story

From the wrestling ring to a wedding ring, the couple recently celebrated their 22nd anniversary.

By Grace Jidoun

Congratulations are in order for WWE legends Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon, as the power couple just officially marked 22 years of wedded bliss. The pair tied the knot on Oct. 25, 2003, and have had one of the wildest romances in wrestling history.

Their courtship began in 1999 when they were thrown together in a WWE storyline, complete with a fake Las Vegas wedding and a pretend divorce. But true love blossomed, and Triple H—whose real name is Paul Levesque—and McMahon have welcomed three children since.

Read on to learn about their relationship, whose twists and turns have been crazier than his signature arm trap crossface or pendulum backbreaker.

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Stephanie McMahon standing behind Triple H, looking at him

They had a clandestine courtship

In the 2013 documentary Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come, Stephanie revealed she didn’t interact much with her future husband before their famous WWF Raw show—where he crashed her “wedding” to Test. In fact, she thought his flirting was part of the script.

“I was forbidden to date any of the wrestlers, and [Triple H] was flirtatious with me," she recalled in Thy Kingdom Come. "I would think like, ‘No, he’s not being flirtatious, ‘cause this is forbidden. He’s not really flirting. He’s just doing the storyline.”

But these two Hall of Famers didn’t become champions by following the rules. After dating in secret, they announced their relationship to the public in 2000, hoping to win over Stephanie’s father, former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, who was Triple H’s boss at the time.

After giving permission and then rescinding it, McMahon finally relented—and the rest is history.

They married for real in 2003

While the fictional wedding was a pay-per-view event kicking off “Armageddon,” the couple’s real-life 2003 nuptials were out of a storybook, held at St. Teresa of Avila Church in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

The wedding party was a who’s who of wrestling, including Levesque’s D-Generation X tag team partner Shawn Michaels, along with The Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Shane McMahon, and Ric Flair.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, of The Two-Man Power Trip, was in attendance, sitting alongside Killer Kowalski, Mick Foley, and Sgt. Slaughter, and more.

Vince McMahon later admitted he wanted to turn their wedding into a pay-per-view, but Stephanie refused, and she continues to value their privacy, especially when it comes to their kids.  

Triple H And Stephanie McMahon in the ring

Triple H is a “girl dad”

Three years later, they welcomed the first of three daughters, Aurora Rose, now 19, on July 4, 2006. Triple H said in a 2021 interview that his firstborn knew her calling by age 8 and wanted “Pop’s (Vince McMahon’s) job in the business.”

The couple manages a busy household in Greenwich, Connecticut, with two younger daughters, Murphy Claire, 17, and Vaughn Evelyn, 14, the latter of whom shares a birthday with her famous grandfather and also hopes to follow in his footsteps.

2026 will be a busy year for the couple

In April, Stephanie launched a WWE podcast, What’s Your Story, With Steph McMahon, where she interviews sports and entertainment icons, including John Cena, Nikki Bella, and Jelly Roll. Triple H also has his hands full taking an executive role at the WWE after he retired from the ring due to a near-fatal cardiac event in 2022.

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Additionally, the couple fundraises for pediatric cancer research and patient care through Connor’s Cure, a charity they founded together to honor Connor Michalek, a WWE fan who battled cancer.

Working in the same industry can strain any relationship, but Triple H recently revealed their secret.

“Being married to your best friend is awesome,” he told the Impaulsive podcast. “We always say it works because we had a dry run on TV. We got married, divorced, and went through everything on screen. So, we know what it’s all like."

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