How John Cena’s Agreement To Have Kids Drove Nikki Bella To End Engagement

Although Nikki Bella was ecstatic when John Cena proposed to her at Wrestlemania 33 in April 2017, the couple was never able to get the happily ever after they wanted due to the “Total Diva” star’s fears.

Following his proposal, Bella revealed that she accepted the fact that Cena didn’t want kids, but as time progressed, she realized she wanted to become a mom. Their different opinions caused the couple to split, but Cena eventually agreed to have children, and the two reconciled.

However, during an appearance on Maria Menounos’ podcast “Better Together,” the 36-year-old opened up about why she ended the relationship with Cena for good in 2018.

“We were trying so hard to make it one. Even in the end, when he was willing to give me kids, I could just tell, it’s not what we wanted. And that’s really, like, you know, what pushed me in the end,” she explained.

Bella revealed she feared Cena would grow to resent her if they had children. “If I’m going to force someone to be a father … what if he looks at you down the road and just regrets everything, and then you have this child, and you’ve built this life,” she said.

“Is that what you want? And I remember thinking: It’s not what I want.”

In her book “Incomparable,” Bella revealed she tried to suppress her desire to have kids to save her relationship with Cena.

“Rather than turn and face that, I pushed it under the carpet and figured I could pretend like it wasn’t there. Because I was terrified of losing my love, I stuffed my desire for marriage and kids as deep as I could,” she wrote.

“He had made it clear that they weren’t on the menu for him. That’s tough, though, because if you’re inclined that way, then the more you grow to love someone, the more you want it all. I stopped giving voice to those needs, though. I was worried my ex would call it off and let me go. And while I wanted those things very badly—I just wanted him more.”

Although Bella and Cena split, she found love with her “Dancing With the Stars” partner Artem Chigvintsev. The two are engaged and expecting their first child together. Meanwhile, Cena has moved on and is dating engineer Shay Shariatzadeh.