Celebrity Exes
What Happened to John Cena and Nikki Garcia? Inside Their Relationship & Split
For years, John Cena and Nikki Garcia (formerly Nikki Bella) were WWE royalty. They were friends for awhile before their relationship turned romantic with a first date in 2012.
Although Cena was admittedly hesitant about marriage throughout the pair’s relationship, he eventually popped the question after they won a match at WrestleMania in 2017. The wedding was set for May 2018, but with just weeks to go before the big day, they called it off.
The two briefly got back together, but Garcia announced in July 2018 that the relationship was over. “After much time and soul-searching alone, and together, we have decided to officially part ways,” she said. “I had a beautiful and loving six-year relationship with a wonderful man. I have the utmost respect for John, but I know this is what’s best for me.”
She then moved on with Artem Chigvintsev, although the two have since divorced. Cena married Shay Shariatzadeh in October 2020. So, what happened between the former lovebirds? Scroll down for a refresh on their split.
What happened between John Cena and Nikki Garcia?
In 2020, Garcia said on Maria Menounos‘ podcast that she and her ex “wanted two different lives.” For the most part, it all came down to their different views on having children.
“Even in the end when he was willing to give me kids, I could just tell, it’s not what he wanted,” Garcia admitted. “And that’s really, like, you know, what pushed me in the end.” She was the one who ultimately pulled the plug on the engagement because she didn’t want him to resent her down the road if they decided to have a child together.
“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,” Garcia wondered. “Is that what you want? And I remember thinking it’s not what I want.”
After their first split in April 2018, Cena went on Today and publicly declared his love for his former fiancée. “I still love Nicole, I would love to marry Nicole, I still would love to have a family with Nicole. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances where our relationship ended,” he said. “I love her. I want to be with her. I want to make her my wife. I want to be the father of her children. I just want us to work.”
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Garcia gave him another shot after the declaration, but things still didn’t work out in the end.
In 2022, she told ET, “I just got this feeling so deep in my gut of, like, ‘I need to walk away.’ And no one thought I would, but it was hitting me so hard. Even though it’s painful and even traumatizing, I just knew it was right.”
Do John Cena and Nikki Garcia have children?
No, the exes never had children together. Cena made it clear throughout the relationship that he did not want kids, and Garcia admitted to Us Weekly in 2017 that it took her a “a lot of therapy” to come to terms with the idea that she would not be a mom.
However, the Trainwreck star eventually changed his tune. “I realize very much that I have been steadfast in saying that I don’t want children,” Cena admitted to TMZ in 2018. “But I’m a little bit older now, a bit wiser. At age 18, we say things different at age 25, at 35. I would love it only because I dedicated my life to my work and now I’m realizing that there is life and life exists and it’s beautiful and I think part of that is being a parent, so we’ll see.”
That same year, on an episode of Total Bellas, he told Garcia that he’d be willing to have his vasectomy reversed so they could start a family. It’s unclear if he ever went through with the procedure.
Garcia went on to have one son, Matteo, with Chigvintsev in 2020, while Cena and Shariatzadeh have not had any children. In 2024, he confirmed that they do not plan on having children, and said it’s a conversation he brought up early on in the relationship.
“I don’t think I’m personally ready nor will I ever be to invest the time it needs to make a great parent. I want to live life,” he explained on the Club Shay Shay podcast. “I still have a lot to do.”
Do John Cena and Nikki Garcia still talk?
Although the two have gone their separate ways, they still run in the same circles, especially since Garcia returned to the WWE in 2025. Earlier this year, they crossed paths at the WWE Royal Rumble event. They also attended the Happy Gilmore 2 Los Angeles premiere.
“It was very quick,” Garcia said during a podcast interview with Kristin Cavallari on the reality star’s tour in March. She added that it had been “seven, eight years” since the two last saw each other, and recalled their interaction. “I was in a circle talking to people,” she shared. “He came to [shake] everyone’s hand. He shook my hand.”
Garcia noted that she wanted to “respect” her ex because of his marriage to Shariatzadeh. “And that was it,” she concluded. “It was great because [we were] breaking the ice and we both happened to be back at [wrestling] at the same time. It’s a good feeling.”
