Nikki Bella from Total Bellas found love after her split from fiancé John Cena, and now her ex has done the same. The 43-year-old pro wrestler and actor quietly married girlfriend Shay Shariatzadeh after being linked to her since March 2019.
John and Nikki, 37, broke up in 2018 after a six-year relationship. Nikki called things off mere days before their wedding. The main reason was that John didn't see children in his future (he even had a vasectomy), but Nikki Bella wanted to be a mom. While Nikki shared on Total Bellas that it would "kill" her to see John with another woman, the retired WWE star ironically found love herself. Several years after competing on Dancing With The Stars alongside partner Artem Chigvintsev, Nikki and the 38-year-old professional dancer reconnected. She and Artem got engaged in November 2019 and welcomed son Matteo into the world in July.
Now, it's John's turn to find true happiness. According to People, he and Shay got married in October at an attorney's office located in Tampa, Florida. Fans have wondered about John's relationship with the 30-year-old since early 2019, when the pair began attending red carpet events together. John and Shay made their first appearance as a couple at the October 2019 premiere for Playing With Fire. During the celebration for his new comedy, the actor coyly said, "It's a wonderful day for a movie premiere, and I got a beautiful date. What's truly special about this one is that, no matter what projects I'm involved in the future, this one will always have a special meaning because I got to film a special project and meet someone special." In January, the two were less coy, sharing a sweet kiss at a red carpet event for Dolittle. Here, John referred to Shay as "family."
Shay is the first woman John has dated since his engagement to Nikki. His new wife boasts a drastically different career path from the former pro wrestler and reality TV star. A product manager at the tech company Avigilon, Shay earned her engineering degree from the University of British Columbia and draws inspiration from her mother, who is a surgeon. In an interview with Avigilon, Shay said, "She is the reason I fight to be the best version of myself, to be kind and to never give up - because, despite all the hardship, she always smiled. She is my hero."
Hopefully, Nikki isn't too heartbroken over John's marriage. When the two split in 2018, Nikki and John released a joint statement that said they'd "continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another." Even if Nikki did feel some type of way, she's too busy making sure her own relationship succeeds to make it known. Nikki and Artem plan to attend couples therapy once he returns home from filming Dancing With The Stars. This, stressed Nikki, is not to address problems in the relationship, but to form a healthy work-life schedule. She said, "We're going to start after the season and it's mainly just to be amazing parents and knowing how to balance parent life out and also our own relationship." Best wishes to both John and Nikki and all that their respective futures hold.
Total Bellas airs Thursdays at 9 pm ET on E!