Nikki Bella, 36, and her ex-fiancé John Cena, 43, broke up in 2018, after six years together, but they still keep in touch — and her current fiancé Artem Chigvintsev, 38, is totally fine with it. Nikki told Page Six, on Tuesday, that the Dancing with the Stars pro, who she shares infant son Matteo with, is “so secure” in the relationship that it didn’t bother him when John reached out.
“That’s what I love about Artem,” the star of Total Bellas shared with the news outlet, “He’s just so comfortable in his own skin, in our relationship. He’s so secure – which he should be – that we could literally be friends with exes and it doesn’t bother us.”
The dark haired reality beauty made sure to clarify in the interview that John sent his congratulatory message in a group text to her and twin sister Brie Bella — who gave birth to son Buddy on Aug. 1, just one day after Nikki delivered Matteo.
“He congratulated us about the babies, but that was group text, not individual to me,” the former WWE star explained, “I haven’t talked to John in a conversation in a long time, well over a year.”
Brie added, “I think, too, because he was so close with our family and when we have big milestones, like when the book came out and having the babies, he’ll put us on a group text to send congratulations.”
Nikki and John famously split over her desire for a family. John was clear that he did not want children and they announced they were going their separate ways on Apr. 15, 2018, just a month before their scheduled destination wedding. “While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another,” they told fans at the time.
Nikki quickly fell in love with her former DWTS pro partner Artem, and the two got engaged in Nov. 2019 while celebrating her birthday in France. Then, eight months later they welcomed their first child. The new family hardly had any time together before Artem had to begin work on Season 29 of DWTS, where he’s partnered with former The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe.
Artem and Kaitlyn are still going strong on the competition show and Nikki’s been “feeling lonely.” During a recent Instagram live chat with Katherine Schwarzenegger she admitted that she’s counting down the days until the season is over and she can have her man back!
“I was like, ‘I just feel lonely’,” Nikki recalled herself telling Artem the other night. “I’m counting down to the season finale [of DWTS], which is in two weeks, because I’m like, I’m finally going to have my fiancé back,” Nikki revealed during livestream. She added, “And we’re going to be a family. And hopefully that loneliness will go away. But I feel like that’s increased so much.”
For his part, John has moved on as well. In March 2019 he started dating Shay Shariatzadeh, and last month the couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in Tampa, Florida.