Nikki Bella responded to John Cena’s emotional Today comments about wanting to get back together

Many fans were heartbroken to hear that John Cena and Nikki Bella had called off their engagement this past April — mere weeks before their wedding. The stars had been together since 2012, and Cena famously proposed to Bella at WrestleMania last year in front of a crowd of thousands.

And — as is par for the course with almost all celebrity breakups — there’s been a ton of speculation over why the couple called it quits, with many outlets theorizing that it ultimately came down to Cena not wanting to have children. However, Cena went on Today on May 14th, to set the record straight. In a five (!) minute monologue, he told co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee that he absolutely wants to marry Bella and have a family with her, and that she’s his “number one.”

"It’s been incredibly reflective," he said of the breakup. "Which has been amazing, but it’s been very difficult. I had my heart broken out of nowhere — or for me it was out of nowhere — and anyone who’s been through that knows it comes with a series of bad feelings. But I’ve looked at myself everyday and the woman that I love, and for anyone out there speculating on what I’m doing with my life now? I still love Nicole, I still would love to marry Nicole, I still would love to have a family with Nicole."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XBLuU_4Qgo?feature=oembed

He also said, “If you look at me five years ago — stubborn, selfish, self-focused, life had always been about me and slowly over time this woman waltzes in and steals my heart. And whether I want to realize it or not, she becomes my #1. So I’m willing to go back on all these things that I said, and a lot of them I was hanging onto just because of stubbornness. ‘I. Won’t. Have. Kids.’ And it took a very strong look in the mirror for me to be like, ‘Why?’ This person is my #1 and it’s something that’s very valuable to her, and of course we can do this and I think it would be wonderful.”

In an interview on the red carpet with Extra the same day, Bella responded to Cena’s words. And we honestly totally get where she’s coming from.

“I have hope," she said. "I’m at a point in my life where I kind of lost me and I want to find me and work on me. I just want John and I both to live happily ever after whether it's together or separate and I just don't want us to go down the road in life and have regrets of like, 'I did this for you' or 'You did this for me,' so I think it's okay in relationships to take that moment. The day I say my vows, I want to say them once and I want to fully mean them, and so that's what made me hesitant — am I ready to say these vows?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b2IYk1VmPw?feature=oembed

She also noted that she learned a lot during the wedding planning process in terms of “the issues [you’re going] to deal with for the rest of your life” with a partner.

Bella will also be appearing on Today this coming Wednesday, May 16th, and we have a feeling we’ll get to hear even more on the situation.