In April 2018, less than a month before they were set to walk down to the aisle, professional
wrestlers John Cena and Nikki Bella announced that their relationship was over.
What happened?
A little and a lot, according to the rumor mill.
From conflicting schedules to angry outbursts, there was a lot going on behind the sordid
curtains of the Johnikki engagement.
Here's the real reason Nikki Bella and John Cena broke up.
No compromise
Cena has hinted that although love is supposed to be a two-way street, he found himself compromising
on things he never imagined simply to keep Bella happy.
Cena told Us Weekly in March 2018.
"We have our problems just like everybody else.
Some of our problems are very public, some of them aren't.
But we work every day on us.
Anytime I get upset, I always just realize that I can't live without her and I love her
and that's why I cave in on a lot of stuff."
"Who caved?
Of course he did?
John you did!
Yes!
The man's in love, of course he caved.
Damn right I am."
Still, not everyone seemed to think that Cena was so gracious.
A source told People:
"He always put himself first.
John's first concern is John.
He will never put anyone first, and that will never change.
That's who he is, and he's very open about it.
Expensive cars and shoes are nice, but that doesn't take the place of someone putting
your needs first."
Too busy
Cena revealed that because of their crazy work schedules, he and Bella sometimes went
months without seeing one another, which can doom even the strongest romances.
He told Us Weekly in March 2018:
"She's super busy and sometimes we don't see each other for months at a time.
But when we do see each other, it's our time and it's our time together.
I think, for now at least, that is certainly what's making this work."
In fact, these two were so busy that they actually had to change their wedding date
and location because of their schedules.
Bad press
According to inside sources John Cena spent a lot of time throwing Bella under the bus
while promoting his 2018 movie, Blockers.
Understandably, the wrestling diva was more than a little hurt by his words.
A source told People:
"All the subtle and not so subtle ways he kept referencing what hard work it was to
be in a relationship, all the ways he never wanted to change, how they didn't need to
see each other that often.
[...] It was just so hurtful."
Cold feet
Apparently, it took a lot of convincing for John Cena to even consider marrying Nikki
Bella, and Bella reportedly didn't want to force a reluctant Cena to drag his feet down
the aisle.
A source told People:
"Nikki is an amazing, talented, strong, one-of-a-kind woman.
Anyone would be lucky to have her in their life, yet John acted more and more like he
was doing her a favor by somehow conceding to go ahead and marry her.
[Bella] doesn't need a pity proposal, a pity wedding, a pity husband.
She's a phenomenal, tremendous woman."
The source added that Cena began to get cold feet as their May 2018 wedding date approached.
That may have been one of the main reasons the two decided to break off their engagement.
Baby drama
John Cena has long admitted he has no interest in becoming a parent.
In a 2014 episode of Total Divas, Cena told Bella:
"I'm trying to be a realist.
I've told you I don't want to get married and I don't want to have kids, and you do
want to get married and you do want to have kids.
I feel like there's a time bomb over my head."
Though Cena eventually came around to the marriage idea, they still didn't see eye-to-eye
on eventually hearing the pitter-patter of little feet.
In 2017, Bella admitted that she was happy to be engaged to Cena, but that she still
wished he'd come around to parenthood.
It also sounded like she was trying very hard to convince herself she was okay with never
being a mom, saying:
"John doesn't want to have kids, so it's taken a lot of therapy to be OK with knowing I won't
be a mom.
I'm not going to lie, there are times when I still pray that one day he'll change his
mind.
But as of now, no family."
Doghouse
Cena admitted to Rolling Stone that in terms of parenting, he couldn't even handle a puppy,
let alone a child, with Bella.
When discussing his dynamic with Bella, Cena said:
"Look, I know I cannot handle raising a child.
It's like with the dog.
My biggest thing to Nicole about the dog was: Love dogs, but I can't contribute to taking
care of one.
I don't have the time.
And just because everyone else is happy with children doesn't mean that's how I have to
live."
Face or heel?
Fans have wondered whether Cena is using his proposal to Bella to help his own public image.
A source told People,
"It's hard for anyone not to wonder why he [proposed to Bella], and did it in this hugely
public way, in the literal arena where he is most popular.
He knew exactly what sort of response he would get by doing that."
Or maybe not.
As a source explained:
"In wrestling there are two archetypes: faces and heels.
A face is a good guy, a hero, who you root for.
A heel is a villain, who sometimes can seem like a good guy but then turns around and
shows his true, evil colors.
John Cena just revealed himself as the ultimate heel."
Too different
John Cena and Nikki Bella tried to come to terms with their differences, but when push
came to suplex, they just couldn't get past their differing views on raising a family.
A source told People:
"When [Cena] proposed, he convinced [Bella] that he was a changed man.
And if he can change his mind about never wanting to get married, why wouldn't he change
his mind about not wanting kids?
[...] When Nikki changed her stance about wanting kids, everyone knew that wasn't her.
You can't take motherhood away from a woman."
According to another source for E! News:
"John never really wanted to get married in the first place but one of the biggest points
of contention or disagreements they had through their relationship was that Nikki wanted to
have kids and start a family and John didn't.
They were not on the same page in that respect."
In the end, they apparently just couldn't reconcile those differences.
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