What's the truth about John Cena's wife,
Shay Shariatzadeh? Although Cena had said "I don't want marriage" in the past,
the wrestler clearly had a change of heart. He and Shariatzadeh look like they're totally in
love and in it for the long haul. So just who is the woman who stole Cena's heart?
So just how did John Cena and Shay Shariatzadeh meet? As Cena's Playing with Fire co-star
Keegan-Michael Key tells it, Cena first saw his future wife at a restaurant in Vancouver — and
was instantly smitten. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Key recalled Cena saying,
"There was one woman I was looking at and I couldn't take my eyes off her."
Clearly sparks flew in that moment for John Cena's wife, too, or she wouldn't have married him!
Cena and Shariatzadeh first stepped out on the red carpet at the premiere of
Playing with Fire in October of 2019. That evening, Cena was all smiles,
and according to his red carpet interview with ET, Shariatzadeh was almost definitely the reason why.
"What's truly special about this one is that, no matter what projects I'm
involved in in the future, this one will always have a special meaning because
I got to film a special project and meet someone special."
He also called Shariatzadeh "beautiful," and said it was going to be a "wonderful night."
Looks like that wonderful night might have been just the start of something special.
While John Cena's romance with Nikki Bella was pretty high-profile — the
pair were featured in the reality show Total Bellas, after all — it
appears that Cena's relationship with Shay Shariatzadeh is much more under the radar.
For one, they didn't make a big announcement when it appeared they got engaged in February of 2020.
In fact, the only reason people noticed it at all is because Shariatzadeh was spotted with a diamond
on her ring finger, leading gossip outlets to conclude they were on the road to matrimony.
That was also the conclusion that Cena's fans came to on Twitter,
when they spotted the couple out and about in San Diego. As one fan account shared,
"Not starting any rumors, but it looks like he might be engaged,
Shay's got a ROCK on her finger."
Looks like love was definitely in the air!
It appears that fan speculation that John Cena and Shay Shariatzadeh were engaged was indeed correct,
as on October 14th, 2020, PWInsider.com broke the news that the lovebirds had tied the knot.
According to the outlet, Cena and Shariatzadeh officially
got married two days prior, on October 12th, 2020.
Cena and Shariatzadeh didn't throw a lavish, over-the-top wedding, however,
nor did they run off to get hitched in Las Vegas. Instead, Cena married his wife in a
private ceremony at an attorney's office in Tampa, Florida, as noted by People.
Perhaps that's the reason Cena got especially sentimental on Twitter
three days before his wedding day, when he wrote,
"Love involves constant effort. When you are truly ready to let love in and give to
love all it needs to flourish, I feel there is no greater, more rewarding connection."
Congratulations, John and Shay!
Shariatzadeh was born in Iran,
but that's not where she was living when she first met her famous wrestler husband.
You see, in addition to having Iranian ancestry, Shariatzadeh is also a Canadian citizen.
That would explain why Cena met Shariatzedeh at a restaurant in British Columbia — she lives there!
Or at least she did until she met and married Cena, who has homes in the Tampa
Bay area of Florida — where they got married — and San Diego, California.
She also attended college at the University of British Columbia from 2008 to 2013,
studying electrical and electronics engineering.
Shay Shariatzadeh's affection for her family extends much
farther than just her husband. In fact, the one person she looks up to more than
anyone else is her mother, who taught her so many things.
For International Women's Day in 2019, she was profiled and interviewed by her employer,
Avigilon, and revealed some details about her mom, and their relationship. She said,
"The strongest and most hard working woman I know is my mother. The biggest
lesson she taught me was to be independent and fight for the things I want in life."
John Cena's wife has huge respect for the sacrifices that her mother made, too. She related,
"She is a surgeon who worked day and night so we could have a good life. While she was at the
peak of her career, she gave it all up to move her family to Canada to give us a better future.
She is the reason I fight to be the best version of myself, to be kind
and to never give up — because, despite all the hardship, she always smiled. She is my hero."
One interesting thing about Shay Shariatzadeh is that, unlike John Cena, she's not a famous
actor or wrestler. Rather, John Cena's wife is an engineer, and her engineering career
was something she decided on early on in life. She explained in a chat for Avigilon,
"I have always enjoyed math and physics. My brother studied engineering in school,
and I remember one day he came home with a project and it was an autonomous car — and that was it!"
Specifically, Shariatzadeh works as a product manager, which she likes because
it allows her to utilize her diverse skill set; she's good at the technical, business,
and people sides of things. She said she takes pride in working in the video security industry,
and considers her work to advance products that keep people and their assets safe to be
her little contribution to the world. So if you've ever relied on a video
security system from Avigilon, perhaps Shariatzadeh herself helped design it.
If there's one thing that's abundantly clear about John Cena, it's that he's totally into his wife.
The pair have been spotted canoodling in public, according to TMZ,
showing just how much they're in love.
A source told Life & Style in October 2020,
"In John's eyes, Shay is the whole package. She's beautiful, intelligent,
kind, independent, and family-orientated and there's rarely any drama between them."
Family-oriented, you say? Given the reported reason for Cena's split from his ex-fiancée
Nikki Bella was their differing opinions on marriage and children, as noted by People, it
will be interesting to see what the future holds for John, Shay, and their potential future family.
Thanks to the year 2020, we're all too familiar with quarantine. And just like everyone else,
John Cena and Shay Shariatzadeh had to shelter in place — and of course, they did it together in
Cena's sprawling Tampa Bay abode. Hey, if you have to be stuck at home, that's not a bad place to be!
That's not to say the pair just frittered around and watched Tiger King while
tending a sourdough starter, however. While on lockdown,
Cena and his wife got their sweat on. A source explained to Life & Style.
"John works out every day to keep in shape. He's also put together a couple's workout itinerary
and he and Shay have a blast exercising together — either outdoors or in his amazing home gym."
Long, elegant dinners, couple's workouts, and red carpet events?
Cena and Shariatzadeh certainly have a marriage worth aspiring to!
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