Nikki Bella would have celebrated her six-year anniversary with John Cena on Thursday, August 9 … had they not split a week prior. Instead, the 34-year-old marked the occasion with a somber Instagram message.
In the stark black-on-white text Bella uploaded as an Instagram image, she addressed her 41-year-old ex: “You’ve changed me forever. And I’ll never forget you.”
And in the caption of the post, the Total Bellas star wrote “8/9 | 6,” the numbers of the bittersweet anniversary.
On July 31, Bella issued a statement to Us Weekly, explaining her and Cena’s decision to split for good, more than three months after they ended their engagement.
“After I called off the engagement, we tried to work on our relationship to get back to where it was in order to move forward with our wedding,” she said. “After much time and soul-searching alone, and together, we have decided to officially part ways. 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.”
A few days later, Cena posted a cryptic message on Twitter. “Trust is a powerful thing,” the WWE champion wrote in the Friday, August 3, tweet. “‘Don’t trust anyone’ closes the door on the experience of life. Learn to trust people, good and bad can come of this, but the more you trust, the more you get to know people for who they really are.”
Bella and Cena started dating in 2012 and got engaged at Wrestlemania 33 in 2017. Their union would have been the second marriage for each: He was previously married to Elizabeth Huberdeau, and she was married to a high school sweetheart who hasn’t been publicly identified.
