Nikki and Brie Bella are getting real! The sisters reacted to Nikki’s ex-fiancé, John Cena, moving on. The WWE pro, 41, was spotted holding hands with Shay Shariatzadeh late last month, just days after Nikki, 35, confirmed she is dating Artem Chigvintsev.
“He’s one of the people, besides you, Brie, who’s made me an amazing person. But because of how sad and how much I hurt him, when I saw the big smile on his face, I felt happy for him,” the reality star said during the Wednesday, April 10, episode of “The Bellas Podcast.” She added: “I am very happy for him. As long as John is happy, I’m happy.”
However, Nikki is still “protective” of him: “Let me tell you, she breaks his heart? Wow. I will rack attack her in a heartbeat.”
She was also aware that her ex was seeing people.
“He and I had talked about it. That’s the other thing. It’s like, maybe that’s why it didn’t hurt me,” Nikki said. “I think I was just really curious to see who he was going on dinner dates with, which, you know, they’ll never be like ours. Just kidding!”
Nikki then revealed that while no one will know all the reasons she and Cena ended their relationship, she’ll always have respect for him. “John is an amazing man and our timing wasn’t right. Who knows, can timing be right for us in the future? Maybe, maybe not. Are we meant for other people? Maybe,” she said. “That’s the thing about love. I think when you’re on a reality show and you put your love out there, we get judged on it so hard and people only see us together. … I have to see why I wasn’t happy and him, the same. Sometimes you learn that way and that’s how people get back together but you grow that way.”
During the March 24 finale of Total Bellas, Nikki admitted that it’d be hard to see Cena move on. “No matter what, the next time I see him with someone it’s gonna kill me,” the former WWE champion told her sister. “I still have a long way to go, but, honestly, I’m ready for a new me. I need it. … I just want to move forward.”
Us Weekly broke the news in April 2018 that Nikki and Cena called off their engagement after six years together. In January 2019, she began dating the Dancing With the Stars pro. They were partners during season 25 of the ABC series.
“No boyfriend/girlfriend titles but I adore the s–t out of him,” she told Us during Wrestlemania weekend. “He’s, like, the sweetest man you’ll ever meet.”
