John Cena is an idol for countless children who fell in love with professional wrestling. But the WWE superstar has opened up on why he's not prepared to have any kids of his own.
Cena, now 47, announced this week that he is going to retire from the WWE as an in-ring talent, making the 'you can't see me' tagline all the more real once he bows out at the end of 2025.
Throughout his entire career he's become an icon and role model for kids (and adults) who love nothing more than Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown. And he seems like a truly nice guy too, with his persona an extension of the real man behind the in-ring performer.
To this day, Cena holds a Guinness World Record for the most-requested celebrity by children at the Make-a-Wish Foundation; an organisation granting life-changing wishes for kids with critical illnesses.
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His ability to give children some incredibly special memories isn't enough for him to want to have his own, though.
As he approaches 50, the Fast X and Ricky Stanicky star has stood by his life decision despite on occasion getting a little bit of bizarre backlash.
Cena opened up about his decision not to be a dad on The Drew Barrymore Show in January 2022. On the episode, Cena said: "I really enjoy my life. I have been riding a lightening bolt for quite some time now.
"I have been given opportunities to do some things that man, I didn’t even dream of, and I had some pretty lofty dreams."
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The key thing for Cena is time. And he quite simply doesn't think he has enough of it when it comes to adding a new life in to the mix - with kids needing a hell of a lot of attention to merely keep them alive in those early years.
"It's hard work. It's hard work to balance the time. I need to run myself correctly," he said.
"It's hard work to be the best partner and husband I can be to my loving wife. It's hard to keep connections with those in my life who I love, and it's also hard to put in an honest day's work.
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"This is just my perspective, again, totally not qualified, but I think just because you might be good at something is not a strong enough reason to do that."
Cena added: "You have to have passion for it. You have to have a fuel for it. It's like saying to somebody - 'Hey, you're pretty good with your hands, you'd be a great carpenter'. But if I want to be an actor, I'll be an actor. "
Cena has been married to Shay Shariatzadeh since tying the knot back in 2020. It is his second marriage following on from three years with Elizabeth Huberdeau.
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Cena famously had a six-year relationship with fellow WWE superstar Nikki Bella, with the two getting engaged but calling an end to their relationship just weeks before the big day.
On his relationship with Bella, Cena openly said her desire to have kids became the thing that broke them up. Speaking about her decision to end things with Cena, Bella told the Better Together with Maria Menounos podcast that she didn't want him to 'regret' having kids with her.
"Even in the end when he was willing to give me kids, I could just tell it’s not what we wanted," she said.
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"And that’s really, like, you know, what pushed me in the end, was like, if I’m going to force someone to be a father."
Topics: John Cena, Sex Education, WWE, Sport, Film, Celebrity, Entertainment, US News
Tom Earnshaw