John Cena & Nikki Bella broke up & ended their engagement, weeks before the wedding

The 2017 ESPY Awards - Arrivals

If you’ve spent literally any time watching Total Bellas or even just one of Nikki Bella’s interviews, this won’t be surprising to you at all: John Cena and Nikki Bella have broken off their engagement, and they broke up completely. When I say this is unsurprising, it’s because it was always pretty clear that Nikki was much more into this relationship that John. John was refreshingly unshady about his desires and wants and needs: he always maintained that after his first marriage ended in divorce, he didn’t want to remarry – in general, and marry Nikki specifically – and that he didn’t want to change his life for fatherhood. John and Nikki were together since 2012, and she basically went on a multi-year campaign to persuade him to marry her. He finally proposed last year, and their wedding was scheduled for May 5. And now it’s all canceled.

After six years together, John Cena and Nikki Bella have called it quits, the couple revealed exclusively to Us Weekly.

“While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another,” the couple tells Us in a statement. “We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives.”

Cena, 40, proposed to Bella, 34, one year ago at Wrestlemania 33. The two have been dating since 2012. The pair were last were spotted in public together at Wrestlemania 34 on Sunday, April 8.

On Saturday, April 14, the Blockers star posted an Instagram photo of a quote from Walt Whitman that read, “We were together. I forget the rest.”

[From Us Weekly]

My guess is that John Cena is the one who got cold feet. I don’t know the man, and I’ve only covered a few of his interviews over the years, but he strikes me as the kind of person who would rather cancel everything a few weeks before the wedding rather than go-along-get-along for a while and be miserable, and have to get divorced in six months. And honestly, maybe it’s better this way. Nikki has every right to want marriage and motherhood, but she pinned those desires to a man who told her openly for years that he didn’t want that life right now. Now they can both move on and it will be painful, but hey, at least they don’t have to get a divorce and go through some complicated legal sh-t.

Premiere Of Universal Pictures' "Blockers"

Premiere Of Paramount Pictures' 'Daddy's Home 2'

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

42 Responses to “John Cena & Nikki Bella broke up & ended their engagement, weeks before the wedding”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Rapunzel says:

    This is not surprising. It was always clear he was pressured into the engagement.

    Wouldn’t be surprised if he cheated either. That’s apparently what ruined his marriage.

  2. Millennial says:

    Well I guess I feel bad for her that she wasted her early 30s with a man whose goals didn’t align with hers, but that should have been obvious much earlier. In my late 20s, I pretty much ended a second date right in the middle of dinner when the person I was dating said he’d had a vasectomy.

    But she’s beautiful, I’m sure there’s no shortage of men who’d be willing to do the deed! Find someone who wants what you want, girl!

    • Rapunzel says:

      I wouldn’t say she wasted her time with him. He raised her profile and helped her career. Which is why she was so intent on locking him down to begin with, so she could elevate herself even more.

      • Jordan says:

        YUP. Her and her sister got a big boost once they started dating the two biggest names int th company. Daniel was for it. So much pressure John could have produced his own diamond.

      • Bridget says:

        I think her ambition and hard work is a part of what made her a good match for Cena. He is a machine, and drives himself hard. He needed to be with someone that understands it, and Nikki has a lot of hustle herself. That’s not a negative thing, and it’s icky to brand ambitious women as users.

      • ValiantlyVarnished says:

        Women can be just as career minded and ambitious as men. She and John were a good fit because they were both ambitious. Funny how that as seen as an attribute in men and women are shamed for it. And usually by other women.

  3. Seraphina says:

    That’s too bad but I agree, she was much more into pinning down a marriage with him and he never showed her interest. Well I wish them of luck. They did look cute together but cute won’t last forever. Bye bye BellaCena

  4. Scal says:

    I find the timing weird since he was just at Wrestlemania a week ago and she wasn’t. Makes me wonder if something happened behind the scenes.

  5. Snowflake says:

    That’s too bad, she was with him a long time. Now she probably feels like she has to start all over again, she’s going to be so old when she finally has kids. Around 34, you start feeling that pressure to get started with the marriage/kids thing. Then when I was single at that age, guys would say stuff like why are you single? As if I must have some big flaw, otherwise I would be married. That’s how I took it anyway

    • naomipaige says:

      I hear what you’re saying, but he was against marriage from the get. So, she knew that, and still stuck with him. She knew what she was getting into, but still doesn’t to stick with it. It’s bad when any relationship falls apart, but the signs should have been there from the beginning.

  6. Lindy79 says:

    I was actually shocked he proposed. From watching Total Divas/Bellas he was adamant that he never wanted to get married again or have kids, and said that from the get-go which I kind of respected. She seems to really want children but was going along with what he wanted and the ring was the consolation. Not a good idea.

    Ouch at it happening right before the wedding though but it’s probably for the best if they wanted different things. Seeing her sister have her little girl must have been tough.

  7. Y says:

    Ok, not a Cena or Bella expert, but spent a week being sick in bed and actually binge watched their show. John really seemed a changed man and said himself he wanted to get married because their relationship was so great and their love so strong and they were a perfect match. Now, on E! News they have a photo collection of their years together AND I totally noticed something. They never kiss fully mouth on mouth. All the photos show them doing the one lip part kiss, like actors do in the movies. I found it strange, but then started thinking… it is the biz and maybe it was a publicity relationship…? Dunno. I cannot believe I even posted this much about it LOL.

    • AmunetMaat says:

      Lol, I was shocked when I saw the first real kiss they did. It was in ring on Smackdown. He was like a kid so happy to be near her and working with her in the ring. It totally sold me on their relationship from HIS end. I said then, “he’s going to propose soon” because he was all on her all the time after that.

    • Hannah Maguire says:

      Those kisses are when you have full on lipstick!

  8. Y says:

    Oh, and for some reason I think she called it off, not him. I may be totally wrong and wish them all the best. Life is too short.

    • Lindy79 says:

      If she ended it, my guess then would be either cheating or she made a final decision on wanting kids. She did seem to really want them and possibly was hoping he’d come around (especially after he changed his mind on getting married)

    • AmunetMaat says:

      My hubby’s theory is that she called it off, not because of cheating but because she honestly got used to not expecting much and liking the grind. Her face at WrestleMania after the proposal was pretty telling as well. I hate the Total Bellas but in one episode (before we stopped watching) she was only half excited about trying on dresses. Her sister surprised her with a pop up bridal shop but there was something a little off about her joy.

      • ValiantlyVarnished says:

        Or…more likely…she realized she was marrying someone who didn’t truly want to marry her and called it off before it became a legal obligation. And if so – good for her for having the courage to do so. John loved her, that was obvious. But love cant fix everything and it certainly can’t make someone want things they dont truly want. I think he proposed because he was scared of losing her. Not because he actually wanted to get married.

  9. Merritt says:

    If he is the one who broke it off then he should have broken it off earlier instead of proposing and letting her think that his feelings about marriage had changed. What went wrong was not one sided. If she broke it off, good for her for realizing that he wasn’t in this with her.

  10. Bridget says:

    It’s hard to make any judgment call about those two based on anything from their reality show, because it was pretty clear that the marriage and kids issue was there storyline. They were together for a long time and he was extremely clear about his wants and needs. I actually thought that the proposal was just for the show and WWE.

  11. JustJen says:

    I had to look her up as I’d never heard of her before and HOLY CRAP. She’s 34??? She looks at least 45. That red lipstick is doing her no favors.

  12. Lizzie says:

    if he really doesn’t want to be married and have kids – he did the right thing and someday she will realize it.

    my good friend was with a man for 7 years who was adamant about not getting married a 2nd time (divorced in his early 20’s) or having kids. he was very clear about how he didn’t think he would be a good dad. so what did she do? get pregnant, blame it on faulty BC and he married her. when he started to get itchy she got pregnant again. now he’s had a vasectomy and she got her tubes tied and i give it 2 years. he is never going to stay with her long term. i do feel bad for her but it is a terrible situation that will get worse. listen to people when they tell you out loud, repeatedly, what they do and don’t want.

  13. Lucy says:

    Agreed that it was for the better. Hopefully they’ll both find happiness. I don’t know her, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person or anything.

  14. Emily says:

    John was always clear, but I remember episodes where it would seem like Nikki was a bring it and he’d give her an inch, some hope. He wouldn’t say he wanted kids but his view on marriage began to change for her, especially after her neck injury and surgery for fear of losing her.

    • AmunetMaat says:

      Yeah, I agree, I think she really did change his mind about marriage. I mean he’s now pushing 40 and a part-timer. When they started dating his divorce was rough and he was the “Face that Runs the Place”. I think as his career was slowing down and once he saw how much fight she had in her he truly thought, why not get married. For watching the show, I gathered he respected the hell out of her and thought she matched him. He was ingrained in her family. So yeah, I believe this split was more of her. Niki Bella will be fine and she knows it.

    • ValiantlyVarnished says:

      I agree. He was honest but he always seemed to dangle a carrot in front of her to keep her around. He loved her and didnt want to lose her – but didn’t want what she wanted.

      • AmunetMaat says:

        Valiantly, maybe your scenario is right. Hard to read when so much PR is involved. I guess it just depends on what type of perspective you have when viewing relationships. I just hope this means that horrible Bella show is done. 🙂

  15. Velvet Elvis says:

    I love the Bella twins. I’m not sad that John and Nikki are breaking up…I was sad that she was marrying him because it meant sacrificing her desire to have children. Not to mention all his bullsh*t rules she had to follow in order to live with him.

  16. lucy2 says:

    Engaged at Wrestlemania and they didn’t make it? Romance is dead.

    In all seriousness, trying to force someone to make a life change they don’t want to make is never a good idea.

  17. Rumi says:

    Its all a PR game. They both mutually benefit from this, the evidence is right here. I don’t know much of them but I can see why this off again on again thing would be PR.

  18. BaBaDook says:

    So, I did a bit of scanning of their instagrams. John has been posting heartbroken pics for a couple of days – but literally four days ago he posted a pic of the ‘At Last’ Etta James cover and Niki commented with a heart. This seems really sudden to me.

  19. SJhere says:

    Believe me when I say this..Better to call off a wedding vs. marry and have it all go to hell.
    Been there, done that.
    It changed the course of my life, divorce, raised child as single parent, 20 years later I’m still regretting that marriage. Best to end it quickly and move on.
    Truly.

  20. Beverly Something says:

    I suppose it’s possible that they’re just getting around to breaking up. John’s been busy promoting Blockers and Wrestlemania and Nikki’s been promoting her and Brie’s clothing line. Maybe they finally got some time together and realized it just wasn’t working.

    However, I also think they may have broken up awhile ago and are just sharing the news now. 1. John may not have wanted to talk about it during his promotions. 2. Stephanie McMahon may have made them wait until after Wrestlemania. 3. Total Bellas should be coming out soon, and this could be a way to rope people in.

    I don’t want to read TOO much into their behavior on Total Divas/Bellas, because it’s so ridiculously scripted. But everyone else seemed a lot more into John and Nikki as a couple than they did, themselves. The “divas” all went to Mexico to celebrate Nikki’s engagement and Brie just was going on and on about how Nikki was FINALLY getting married, and all that “always a bridesmaid” nonsense. Nikki just didn’t give off a vibe that she was that desperate or excited to get married. I think it’s also telling that she has better chemistry with pretty much everyone on the show – including the dogs – than she does with John.

    • Bridget says:

      I’ve seen some of the show as well, and I was surprised when he proposed because the issue seemed to have been settled a long time ago. And indeed, it is HIGHLY scripted, and I’m loathe to make any judgements based solely on that show.

    • naomipaige says:

      Yes, I just saw him promoting garbage bags (think that was what it was.) LOL

  21. oh-dear says:

    John had said in an interview that Nikki was really jealous and didn’t like him acting alongside women if there was a romantic storyline. If he is going to keep moving into acting, that might have been a big issue for them.

  22. ValiantlyVarnished says:

    Not surprising at all. I was more surprised when be proposed. I feel bad for Nikki. She wasted so much time in this relationship. But I also think it’s a reminder of a lesson a lot of women still haven’t learned: you can’t change a man or make him want things he doesn’t want. It was always clear that John didn’t want to get married and didn’t want kids. He never lied to her about that. He was upfront about it. And she always clearly thought she could change his mind.

  23. booRadley says:

    preach!!!! I’ve done it before, obviously best not to get engaged in the first place, but when you know its wrong, why walk down the aisle and say the vows if you know in your heart its not there, for the long haul, just to save face.
    no thank you. end it, hurt, and move on.

  24. Sara says:

    The first I’d ever heard of this relationship was 2017 Wrestlemania when he proposed. I don’t watch wrestling but my friend was hosting a watch party and I was just really there to hang out with my friends. Anyway, really, was this ever real? Everything in the WWE is staged. Add a “reality” show into the mix. He proposed on camera at Wrestlemania when they were both acting their characters at the end of a staged match. So…wasn’t this all part of the show(s)?

  25. ladida says:

    These decisions are so hard and painful for anyone. As someone who is going through a breakup right now, it takes a lot of maturity to love someone but also be willing to admit that you are not meant to be married.

  26. Emily says:

    My husband is a big wrestling fan and he says “sources close to Nikki” say she broke up with John. Over the years he had been changing and moving more away from a “roommate agreement” in the direction of marriage, then he proposed. It seemed good. After the proposal that growth stunted and it wasn’t enough for her; she could have done without kids if he hasn’t begun regressing. She wanted a romantic partnership. A marriage. He saw marrying her as locking down what they already had.

  27. Lilith says:

    I have to say I have a lot of empathy for Nikki. It seems that she really fell head over heels for the man, and didn’t only date him to boost her career.
    I am in a similar situation as Nikki, getting pulled back into a years-long on/off relationship with a guy I probably pinned a lot of unrealistic expectations on to.

    It is so painful to realize how much the hopeless reality differs from the relationship you dreamed about. It has been a major lesson for me (at age 33) about setting personal boundaries/standards, self-Love, and managing expectations.

    Best of luck to them both.