John Cena has changed his mind … and it may be too little, too late. For years, the WWE Superstar has said that he didn’t want to have kids, but during his Monday, May 14, appearance on the Today show, he admitted that he wants nothing more than a family with his now-ex fiancée, Nikki Bella.
“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,” the 41-year-old told Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb in the interview. Later, he repeated the family part, admitting he wants children with her. “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.”
The pair called off their engagement and separated after six years together in April 2017. However, their wedding planning and relationship roller coaster will be shown on the next season of Total Bellas. During the Sunday, May 20, premiere episode, Nikki, 34, breaks down when she’s around her sister Brie Bella’s daughter, Birdie.
“I just look at Birdie’s face and never thought I could have this connection with a baby … I want to give her everything and make sure she has the greatest life. I’ve never felt that unconditional love,” she tells her sister during the episode.
Cena has been up-front with Nikki since the beginning of their relationship, telling her repeatedly he didn’t want kids, while she made it clear she did. “I was, like, 100 percent OK not being a mom, but Birdie just gets cuter by the day,” she explains in the episode. She also adds that her then-fiance said “absolutely not” when she brought up the topic of kids again.
“What’s hard at times, what people don’t realize about my relationship is I’m alone a lot. I’m alone in these big beautiful homes … since we’ve gotten engaged, John and I have probably shared our bed together maybe 30 days total, out of six months. Or 40 days,” Nikki admits after having dinner with a few other friends who are parents.
During the premiere, E! will also show a sneak peek of what’s coming up that includes a conversation with Cena during which he seemingly refers to her hope for children saying, “I’ve told you so many times this would happen.” After she says she feels “suffocated,” he admits, “I’m not sure we should go through with this.”
Through tears, she asks, “So we really want to call this off?”
Total Bellas season 3 premieres on E! Sunday, May 20, at 9 p.m. ET.
