John Cena is a married man! The pro wrestler married Shay Shariatzadeh in a top-secret wedding in Tampa on Oct. 12. News of the nuptials didn’t break until days later on Oct. 14, and it was revealed that the pair received their marriage license on Oct. 9. However, this is not John’s first relationship in the spotlight. Here are more women he’s been involved with or romantically linked to over the years:
Lisa Marie Varon
Very little is known about John’s brief relationship with wrestler Lisa Marie Varon, who was known in the ring as Victoria or Tara. She was married to her husband, Lee Varon, from 1994 until 2015. However, she once revealed in an interview that she was romantically involved with John during a break in her marriage. “We have separated a few times,” she explained. “One of those times that we separated, I dated John for about a month. It was not in 2006 or 2007. It was 2002. I was married but separated. John was single.”
Mickie James
In 2007, John dated another wrestler, Mickie James, and their relationship was turned into a WWE storyline the following year. However, this was very brief. It’s been long-rumored that the pair’s breakup is the reason that Mickie was released from WWE in 2010. When she returned to the organization in 2016, though, she was mature about the possibility of having to work with or interact with her ex.
“We’re all adults and, you know, obviously this business is what it is,” Mickie said at the time. “We’ve all had our fair share of relationships failed. I think that being adults and being professionals….I would hope that, and I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be pretty awesome.”
Elizabeth Huberdeau
John announced that he was engaged to Elizabeth Huberdeau in 2009, and they tied the knot that July. The two were extremely private about their relationship and were rarely photographed in public together. Unfortunately, the romance was short-lived, and John filed for divorce in 2012. They divorce was finalized just days after the pair’s three-year wedding anniversary. It has been reported that John’s commitment to his career led to the demise of his marriage.
AJ Lee
At the end of 2012, John and AJ Lee were involved in a major storyline for WWE. After it was alleged that the two had a workplace affair, she stepped down from her General Manager duties. The two denied the relationship, but eventually started dating. However, several weeks later, AJ turned on John in the ring and claimed that he “broke her heart.” It was later revealed that these to did not have a real relationship, and that the romance was strictly for a storyline.
Nikki Bella
Perhaps John’s most well-known relationship was with Nikki Bella. They started dating in 2012. Throughout the relationship, John was adamant that he didn’t want to get married again because he did not want another divorce. He was also always insistent that he did not want kids, as he did not feel like he would be able to dedicate himself to them due to his busy career. Nikki and John’s struggles with his inability to commit played out on Total Divas and Total Bellas.
Eventually, John came around and gave Nikki the proposal of her dreams at Wrestlemania in 2017. However, that winter, Nikki began getting cold feet and having reservations about the relationship. They briefly split at the beginning of 2018, but reconciled when John agreed to reverse his vasectomy and have a baby with Nikki. Unfortunately, something just still wasn’t right in Nikki’s gut, and the pair ended their relationship for good in April 2018 — just weeks before they were meant to tie the knot!
Shay Shariatzadeh
John didn’t stay single for long after ending things with Nikki! By the beginning of 2019, he was dating Shay. Again, the two have been notoriously private about their romance, but they did make their red carpet debut later that year. John and Shay never even announced that they were engaged, so fans were definitely surprised to hear that they secretly got married in Tampa on Oct. 12, 2020!