Who Is WWE Star Cody Rhodes’ Wife? All About Fellow Wrestler Brandi Rhodes

Wrestling runs in Cody Rhodes and Brandi Rhodes’ family.

The couple met in 2011 while they both worked for WWE. At the time, Cody’s dad, Dusty “The American Dream” Rhodes, held different positions at NXT wrestling after retiring from the ring. Dusty met Brandi while training up-and-coming stars and dreamed up a new promo for her based on her striking green eyes. He also told his son about her.

“He thought, ‘You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna do these vignettes where we just focus on her eyes, and it’s like her eyes do the talking,’ ” Cody recalled to Andscape in 2019. “And I didn’t know at the time that he was talking about my future wife.”

Cody and Brandi have now been married for more than a decade. Snippets of their lives on the wrestling circuit have been featured in the TNT reality series Rhodes to the Top and the E! series WAGS: Atlanta.

In June 2021, the pro wrestlers welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Liberty Iris Runnels. Four years later, in August 2025, Cody and Brandi announced they had welcomed their second child, daughter Leilani Ella.

From her pre-WWE career to her relationship with the pro wrestler, here’s everything to know about Cody Rhodes’ wife, Brandi Rhodes.

Brandi Rhodes competed as a figure skater before pursuing a career in television

Brandi Rhodes was born Brandi Alexis Reed in Canton, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, on June 23, 1983. She grew up competing in figure skating, starting at the age of four.

“What I imagined back then was that I would be the first black female figure skater to win the gold medal at the Olympics, so I had high hopes for being a ‘first,’ for sure,” Brandi told Andscape. “I definitely ended up in a different direction.”

That direction was television. She earned a full scholarship to the University of Michigan, hanging up her skates her sophomore year to focus on academics. After graduating, she worked as a news anchor for two years before moving to the East Coast.

Brandi enrolled at the University of Miami and earned her master’s in broadcast journalism. She also modeled for several brands, including KFC and Budweiser. In March 2011, she signed a development deal with WWE after a tryout. The aspiring star was assigned to work at Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).

Brandi realized Cody was special on their third date

During the first year of her WWE career, Brandi and Cody got into a relationship — though it took a while for her to come around to the idea of dating a co-worker.

“It probably took around a month for me to go out with him,” she told Wrestling Inc. in 2017. “And after that, the rest is as they say history, because I feel that we ended up spending every day together after that; every day that we could.”

She recalled in a 2014 WWE interview that their first date was at a Waffle House and their second was at a Cracker Barrel. But it was their third date that made her realize how special Cody really was.

“My moment where I knew this was definitely the person for me was when Cody asked me on a date to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Nobody had ever asked me on a date to Halloween Horror Night, and I had never been even though I am a horror fanatic,” she told Sports Illustrated in 2016.

“I go to all the haunted houses that I can get my hands on, and I grew up in Michigan, where there are a lot of back-woodsy haunted attractions,” she continued. “I had wanted to go to Halloween Horror Night for years, but no one was ever interested.”

Brandi shared that she and Cody spent the entire weekend at Halloween Horror Nights and later made it an annual tradition for them as a couple.

Brandi and Cody got engaged in 2012 and married in 2013

Brandi and Cody got engaged in November 2012, a little over a year after they first started dating. She announced the news on X (formerly Twitter).

“Last night was for us, time to share! @CodyRhodesWWE is officially my fiancé! (Or my beyonce for those who know) 💍😍,” she wrote.

The couple married on Sept. 12, 2013, at the Swan House and Atlanta History Center. Brandi wore a strapless, beaded and lace white mermaid gown by Lazaro with a feathered skirt and train, while Cody wore a classic black tuxedo and white shirt.

Brandi became the first Black woman executive in North American wrestling

Brandi made her FCW debut in 2011. She started as a ring announcer for WWE Superstars, then began announcing NXT matches under the name Eden Stiles. She was released from her WWE contract in December 2011. around the same time she announced she was dating Cody.

In 2013, she returned as an announcer and backstage interviewer for Main Event and SmackDown and became a backup announcer for WrestleMania and Raw. She made history as the first Black woman ring announcer at WrestleMania in 2015.

In 2016, she was released from her contract for a second time, and Cody exited as well, citing his personal frustration at not being able to break through with fans or win the top title.

Similarly, Brandi wasn’t able to earn a spot as a WWE wrestler despite extensive training. She decided to shift her focus to independent wrestling circuits, including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and World Wonder Ring.

“I was brought into WWE many, many moons ago as a developmental talent. Developmental means you’re training to wrestle, and I did that with FCW, and then with my second run at NXT as a wrestler,” she explained to Sports Illustrated. “I was hired to be a wrestler, and I spent all that time training, learning, and working, so this is my chance to showcase that.”

In 2018, Brandi made history yet again as the first Black woman to compete in New Japan Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom event. The next year, she became the first Black woman executive in a North American wrestling operation when she was appointed as All Elite Wrestling (AEW) chief brand officer, making her the first Black woman executive in a North American wrestling operation.

Despite these successes, Brandi revealed that she still had to navigate obstacles because of her husband’s family legacy.

“It’s something that I hear all the time in my head, because it’s not because I’m Black that I have to work harder than everyone else,” she said. “It’s because my last name is Rhodes that I have to work harder than everyone else.”

Brandi and Cody both left AEW in 2019.

Brandi orchestrated Dusty’s final television appearance

In 2015, Brandi’s father-in-law Dusty had kidney disease and his health was beginning to fail. While initially reluctant to appear on camera, Brandi encouraged him to do a brief segment with superfan Maria Menounos backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony that ended up being his last time on-screen. Brandi appeared at his side while Menounos did an impersonation of Dusty, who died three months later.

Cody explained to Andscape, “(Brandi) brought that moment to him. It ended up being this really touching moment where Maria was able to share her fandom with Dusty, and I was glad that she gave that to him.”

Brandi and Cody share two children

Brandi and Cody are parents to daughters Liberty Iris and Leiliani Ella.

The couple announced Brandi’s first pregnancy in December 2020, with Brandi telling PEOPLE they were excited to “dive right in” to parenthood. Their baby girl was born on June 18, 2021, and she had a Disney-themed nursery waiting for her at home.

Liberty’s arrival was particularly moving for Cody, who didn’t think he’d ever be a dad.

“I never thought that I’d be a father. We were a … dual income, weirdo family for so long with no kids, just living like we were 20, still,” he said of his relationship with Brandi. “But in 30 minutes … we literally became an actual family. I’m just the happiest I could ever possibly be. I really am.”

Leaving AEW, Brandi said, gave her more freedom and flexibility as a mother. “I’ve had many career changes that weren’t really anticipated over the past year and it actually turned out to be a really great thing because through these changes I have had the ability to be like, ‘You know what? I’m prioritizing my daughter,’ ” she told PEOPLE.

“So we are literally just doing whatever we want. We’re discovering things together, we’re traveling together,” she continued. “I’m able to say, ‘Hey, I want my baby here.’ I’ve been blessed with the freedom to be able to see motherhood exactly how I want to right now and that was not always going to be the case.”

In August 2025, Cody and Brandi announced the arrival of Leiliani Ella. “Welcome to the world Leilani Ella Runnels,” the new mom of two wrote on Instagram at the time. “We are in love. Thank you God for answered prayers. Cody + Brandi + Libby + Lani = ❤️.”

Brandi openly shares her experiences with postpartum depression

While Brandi and Cody were elated by Liberty’s arrival, Brandi’s mental health suffered. She opened up about her postpartum depression on Instagram in hopes that other struggling parents would feel less alone.

Brandi said in a moving post that Liberty was “beautiful” and “captivating,” but that she felt “terrified about everything” regarding her well-being.

“If there was a chance anything could happen to her I thought of it and cried over it. Nonsensical stuff,” she wrote, explaining that she’d panic whenever Liberty coughed or hiccuped.

“I’m confrontational with doctors when it comes to her,” Brandi added. “I don’t trust people at all, not even the people that raised me! I’m suffering from postpartum depression. Some days I do better than others.”

Cody credits Brandi’s support for his WWE comeback

While Brandi has said she doesn’t plan on wrestling professionally in the future, Cody made a triumphant return to WWE in early 2022. He later shared that if it weren’t for Brandi, he may have never made the move.

“It’s not a story that anyone’s ever really going to know, but I wouldn’t even be able to have come back if Brandi had not made a very selfless decision that changed my life,” he said on the Superstar Crossover podcast in March 2023. “It’s hard to even speak about it without getting emotional. Brandi deserves the WWE Championship almost more than I do. I really look forward to trying to be able to do that.”

While Cody didn’t go into detail about what Brandi did to encourage and enable his WWE comeback, he did say that knowing he had to “report back” to his wife and daughter evoked a sense of responsibility in him to “give everything” he could at work — and hopefully also bring a championship belt or two home. And he did, winning the Royal Rumble in January 2023 and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Wrestlemania in April 2024.

When asked about her role in Cody’s WWE return, Brandi also didn’t delve into too many details but did explain how it came about. “The second he said (he wanted to go back to WWE), I was like, ‘I don’t know why we haven’t had this conversation earlier,’ ” she told Instinct Culture.

“‘How can you realize your dream when you’re not at the place that your dream is at?” she added. “So, yeah, you should talk to (WWE). If this is what you want to do, you should do it 100 percent.’ ”

Brandi transitioned from wrestling to opening a yoga and pilates studio

While she’s no longer grappling professionally, Brandi remains active and passionate about physical fitness, which translated to a new gig. She opened her own yoga and pilates studio, announcing the news on X in July 2023 and noting that she will have an app for virtual workouts.

She explained to Instinct Culture that yoga and pilates helped her tremendously during her pregnancy and postpartum, saying, “It really helped and healed me in so many ways after having Liberty, going through the changes that we went through.”