Nikki Bella may be moving out from the San Diego home she shared with ex-boyfriend John Cena, but that doesn’t mean she’s moved on in her heart.
The WWE superstar, 34, admitted to TMZ at an airport on Thursday, July 26, that while house-hunting in La Jolla, California, is going “good,” she still shares “some fire” with the Daddy’s Home 2 actor. “Oh, there is,” she told the publication. “I love him. I love him a lot.”
She also admitted that she’s not ready to consider dating another wrestler. “I can’t even think about that,” she said.
Earlier this month, Bella claimed to followers of her shared YouTube vlog with twin sister Brie Bella that she and Cena, 41, were “just friends.” “We are both working on each other and trying to work on us, and we talk every day,” she said at the time. “He is not only my best friend, but he truly is one of the best people I have ever met, and he has patience with me and he has really taught me a lot over the last few months. I think one of those things is an inner strength that I thought I had, but didn’t realize how strong I had it.”
The Total Bellas star also admitted to fans in a June 22 episode of the show that she and Cena were “growing apart” while planning their wedding. “Anything that’s wedding-related, it just… I feel like I’m continuing to grow more apart from John and I should be growing closer to him,” she said.
According to an Us Weekly insider, the couple ultimately called off their engagement in April over hurtful comments Cena made to the press. “The things he’s been saying on television and in the press recently hurt Nikki,” the confidant explained at the time.
The former couple also released a statement exclusively to Us following their breakup: “While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another. We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives.”
A rep for the pair told Us in June that they have since been “working on their relationship” and “taking it day by day.”
