Nikki Bella reflected on her “painful” breakup with John Cena just days after his second wedding to Shay Shariatzadeh.
Bella said in a new interview that her 2018 split from Cena was “hard” because their relationship was still “loving” at the end.
“You almost wish it was bad, because it’s so much easier to walk away,” the “Total Bellas” alum, 38, explained to “Entertainment Tonight” Wednesday.
“I think a lot of women get into this situation when it’s like, ‘I love this person, but I don’t know if it’s right for my life,'” she added. “Sometimes we meet amazing people, but we’re just meant to live a different life.”
The reality star and professional wrestler recalled feeling the need to call it quits “deep” in her gut.
“No one thought I would, but it was hitting me so hard,” she said of their breakup. “Even though it’s painful and even traumatizing, I just knew it was right.”
Bella and Cena, 45, began dating in 2012 and got engaged five years later. Although they separated in April 2018, they reconciled later that same year, albeit briefly.
Bella has since moved on with “Dancing With the Stars” pro Artem Chigvintsev, to whom she got engaged in November 2019. They share a 1-year-old son, Matteo.
Cena, for his part, started his romance with Shariatzadeh, 33, in 2019. They legally tied the knot in October of the following year at an attorney’s office in Florida.
Last week, the pair enjoyed a more traditional wedding ceremony in front of their family and friends in Canada.
As for Bella, she told “ET” Wednesday that she is “still planning” her own nuptials to Chigvintsev, 40.
“We are just trying to figure out this whole family thing with Artem,” the bride-to-be explained of her Russian in-laws.
“[We’re] praying that we can get Artem’s family, hopefully, to America soon. That is our goal.”
