Meet UFC’s Heartthrob Nina Marie Daniele: Boyfriend/Husband, Age, Playboy, ‘Nina Drama’ and More

The sport of MMA may be all about the fighters in the ring. But sometimes, just sometimes, the people on the sidelines who help give the world a glimpse of their favorite fighters’ characters outside the ring become the stars themselves. And the UFC personality interviewer, Nina-Marie Danielle, is undoubtedly one of them. Over the years, ‘Nina Drama’ has amassed a massive following, primarily because of her MMA fighter interviews. But her interviews contain a lot more than just the fight-related aspects of the athletes.

Daniele often highlights imaginary situations and asks fighters for their opinions about them. She has interviewed many notable UFC fighters, both about their fights and out-of-UFC affairs. But even though she’s like a celebrity in the UFC circle, many don’t know much about her life, in and outside the world of MMA. So, let’s learn more about her.

Where is Nina Marie Danielle from? Ethnicity, Nationality, and Parents

There are only a handful of reports that talk about Nina’s early life or roots. However, we do know that she was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 27, 1988. Ever since she was a kid, she’s had a close relationship with her parents. To date, she resides in her native place. However, the sizable amounts of money she earns from her ventures have turned her residence into a bigger one, and she even owns a BMW.

There is currently no public information available on the identities of Nina Marie Daniele’s parents. Moreover, it remains unknown if she has any siblings or if she’s the only child in her family. However, we do have details on Daniele’s ethnicity, which is of French and Italian descent and she possesses American citizenship.

Well, the answer to this question came from Nina herself. Although, we’re not too sure about the legitimacy of her claim. The thing about famous personalities is that they always have people who adore them. Then, there are people who troll or pass negative comments about them. Starting as a content creator on social media, to now being such a recognizable personality in the MMA world, she was bound to have the latter. So, to silence all of them, she posted a tweet on X, talking about her “degree in psychology” from “Harvard.”

Although her tweet talked about psychology-related stuff, we can’t be sure if that is proof of her possessing a degree from Harvard University. What is your take on it? But now that we’ve established her roots, let’s have a look at her work.

Why is ‘Nina Drama’ famous? UFC Career and Net Worth

Reports claim that Nina Marie Daniele initially wanted to serve in the army. After completing her primary and high school education at a local institution, she earned a degree in creative writing with a focus on poetry.  However, as she grew up, she found herself as a model, working for some of the famous magazines, such as Playboy. Thereafter, Daniele would jump ship to YouTube, Tiktok, and other social media platforms, making content on and with the UFC for which she has become known well today.

In a 2021 interview with Voyage LA, Daniele described herself as a content creator who enjoys “comedy and making people laugh.” She revealed, “I studied acting for a while, improv, drama and specifically sitcom which is my favorite. I moved from NYC to LA two and a half years ago and started collaborating with people who were creating content like me.”

Thanks to her modeling, content creation, and work with the UFC (which she started in 2022), ‘Nina Drama’ currently boasts a net worth of somewhere between $800,000 million and $1 million, according to some sources. With her UFC content in full swing now, let’s take a look at how her Playboy career panned out.

Nina Drama’s Playboy career

‘Nina Drama’ opted to audition for multiple fashion and entertainment magazine houses after deciding to step into the glamour world. As mentioned, Nina tried out for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2017. But she didn’t limit her efforts to just that. The California native also modeled for the Playboy magazine.

After making her debut as the April Playmate of the Month in Playboy’s March/April 2017 issue, she received her biggest recognition in 2018, earning the Playboy ‘Playmate of the Year’ title. Photographed for an 11-page Playmate of the Year spread, Daniele expressed what it meant to her. As reported by GQ, “It means so much to me – to not only be seen in my most vulnerable state but to also be presented, in words, for who I am. Through ‘Playboy,’ I was able to talk about how it feels to be a woman in today’s society.”

Who is Nina Marie Danielle’s boyfriend? Is she dating Sean Strickland?

As mentioned, Nina wanted to serve in the army after completing her education. But it was her boyfriend who insisted she step into the glamour world. After putting her military career to rest, Nina tried out for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2017. Thanks to that first push he gave, Nina can attribute a lot of her success in the glamour world to her boyfriend, Jhanelle Castillo, without whom she might not have entered the world of UFC.

Nina Marie Daniele has made so much UFC content that she ended up making some good friends, especially Sean Strickland. That seemingly generated speculations about the two possibly dating, which is true because some sources claim that Nina has been with Jhanelle Castillo for over a decade. One of them also mentions that she and Castillo celebrated the twelfth anniversary of their relationship in December 2022.

Nina also features Castillo in several social media posts across various platforms. In an Instagram post where Castillo announced their move to Los Angeles, he broached the topic of tying the knot in the near future. As per him, “Before u ask me when we’re getting engaged 👰🏻💍👴🏽…. please note that @ninamariedaniele said I have to finish paying off all my college loans before I can even think about the subject!” 

Talking about Castillo and Nina-Marie’s modeling career, the UFC reporter achieved a career milestone in 2018.

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Nina-Marie’s exchanges with Alex Pereira, Sean Strickland, Gordon Ryan, and other MMA stars

As mentioned, Nina has interviewed the elite of the UFC athletes, including multiple interviews with the UFC featherweight kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski. But a lot of fans may find her Sean Strickland interviews the funniest. Nina has admitted that Strickland is her friend, and the two often go no-holds-barred in their interviews, making them interesting for the fans. Another instance of a funny interaction Daniele had was with light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira.

Nina Marie Daniele wanted to learn the secret behind ‘Poatan’ sneaky and powerful leg kicks. But when he tried to demonstrate it with the least power, the model-turned-influencer still couldn’t save her leg from getting battered.

Also, she got into a bit of trouble with the noted Brazilian Ji-Jitsu star, Gordon Ryan, about posing a rather explicit question to him in an interview. Nina asked, “I am here with Gordon Ryan, and the people wanna know, Gordon, does the carpet match the drapes?”. Although Ryan had no problems answering the questions, many fans didn’t take Nina’s questions well.

She’s continuing her UFC interviewer role with all her dedication and has amassed over 750k subscribers on her YouTube channel, over 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and another 3.6 million on TikTok.

Read More: Relationship Between Sean Strickland and Nina-Marie Daniele? All We Know About UFC Champ and Nina Drama’s Bond