CJ Perry and Rusev Expecting First Child After IVF Journey

CJ Perry and Rusev are expecting their first child together, a baby boy due on April 28, 2027. The couple, known to wrestling fans as Lana and Miro, have already settled on a name: Bear Petrov Barnyashev.

Perry shared the news publicly, describing a long and emotional road that began when the pair started IVF treatment in 2025. According to her account, they underwent an embryo transfer on August 10, 2026, followed by an agonizing wait for pregnancy tests on August 19 and August 21 to confirm the result. Perry said the process involved real uncertainty at every stage, from tracking embryo development on day three and day five to awaiting genetic testing results, with the pool of viable embryos narrowing along the way. The first embryo to come back with normal genetic results was a boy, and that was the one transferred.

Perry said hearing their son’s heartbeat for the first time brought overwhelming joy and gratitude, calling it proof of a long-awaited miracle. Rusev revealed that he’d envisioned naming a future son Bear for roughly a decade, and that the middle name Petrov honors his own father, who will become a first-time grandfather. Rusev also joked about his son’s athletic future, saying he hopes to eventually move the family to Spain so Bear can train with Real Madrid’s football academy.

Both Perry and Rusev said becoming parents has long been a shared dream, and that the difficulty of the IVF process has only deepened their appreciation for the pregnancy.

The announcement comes at an eventful time for both performers. Rusev returned to WWE in April 2025 after a run in AEW under the Miro name, while Perry also spent time in AEW following her initial WWE tenure as Lana. Perry has additional news on the horizon outside the ring as well — her debut novel, Bulletproof Angel, is set for release on November 10.

The couple, married since 2016, have built one of wrestling’s more visible real-life partnerships, with fans following both their in-ring careers and personal milestones closely over the years. News of their pregnancy adds a personal chapter to that story, arriving as both performers continue to navigate high-profile runs in the industry. For a pair who have been open about their journey to parenthood, the arrival of baby Bear next spring figures to be a widely celebrated moment across the wrestling community.

As is often the case with performers balancing family milestones and demanding travel schedules, it remains to be seen whether this news will have any bearing on Rusev’s in-ring scheduling with WWE in the coming months. For now, the focus for the couple is simply on the pregnancy itself, and the long-awaited arrival of their son.