Nikki Bella is living her ‘best life’ now, but sources reveal her true feelings about John Cena’s surprise marriage and how the exes feel about each other today.
Once upon a time, Nikki Bella and John Cena were the star couple of the WWE world. Despite ending their relationship for good in July of 2018, Nikki still took notice when her ex-fiancé secretly married Shay Shariatzadeh, 30 (a product manager for Sonatype) in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 12! HollywoodLife has learned from multiple sources how Nikki feels about the surprise nuptials.
John Cena and Shay Shariatzadeh are pictured here making their red carpet debut as a couple at the premiere for John’s comedy Playing With Fire in Oct. 2019. They were first romantically linked together in March of 2019. (Photo Credit: AP)
“Nikki is really happy for John that he has found someone to share his life with and wishes nothing but the best for him and Shay,” a source close to Nikki EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife. “Nikki is living her best life and only hopes for the best for them, as well. She is in such a different chapter of her life and feels so blessed to have all her hopes and dreams come true.”
Like John, Nikki has also moved on to a new lover: her former dance partner on Dancing with the Stars, Artem Chigvintsev, whom she welcomed a son named Matteo with this past July. “She’s still adjusting to the thrill of motherhood and can’t wait to marry Artem in her dream wedding,” our source continues. Artem proposed to Nikki in Nov. 2019, and the Total Bellas star is still waiting to join the married life like John. However, “Nikki couldn’t ask for anything more and she’s glad that John found everything he’s looking for, too,” our source clarifies.
A second source reveals how John and Nikki feel about each other now, two years after the split that broke WWE fans’ hearts at the time. “Nikki and John had a relationship and friendship that was as unique as possible and the time they spent together will never be forgotten. But with the heartache that relationship brought there is still an endless amount of respect,” a second source who’s close to the exes EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife.
Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev competed together on Dancing with the Stars in 2017, but were just friends at the time. They were first linked together in Jan. 2019, months after Nikki’s split with John Cena. (Photo Credit: AP)
Despite their respect for one another, there was one major issue in the relationship: John didn’t want kids, and Nikki did. However, John did offer to reverse his vasectomy to make Nikki happy, but she didn’t want him to go through with something that he didn’t really wish for. “John is a class act and Nikki is no nonsense. She is now a mother and has a beautiful child she never would have had with John,” our second source adds. “The life she had with John was great, but the life she has now is greater and she only hopes he can say the same. She is very happy for his happiness.”
Despite their differences, Nikki made it clear that she didn’t develop a wandering eye while she was engaged to John — even while she was competing with Artem on DWTS in 2017! “That’s the crazy thing being with him [Artem] now, is there was none of those feelings at all,” Nikki insisted on the Oct. 13 episode of The Bellas podcast.
