"When I saw the headline...my stomach went into knots."
Nikki Bella is finally sharing her reaction to seeing photos of her ex-fiance, John Cena, out with another woman.
On the latest episode of The Bellas Podcast, the 35-year-old pro wrestler and reality star admitted that, when she first saw Cena holding hands with a mystery woman (who later turned out to be Shay Shariatzadeh) in Vancouver this past March, she experienced a flood of emotions.
"When I saw the headline...my stomach went into knots," Nikki relayed to listeners. "But then when I opened it up and saw the photo it was weird…you know when you get a text or you see a photo or you see your significant other flirt with someone or something, you know how you get those knots in your stomach that hurts? You either want to poop your pants immediately...or you just have the craziest tummy ache, right? So neither of that happened to me when I saw the photos."
"It made me sad for John," she added. "And I felt bad for John, with our breakup, I felt bad because I felt like I embarrassed him. I felt like I disappointed him."
Later, she shared that, although she and her ex have maintained a friendship, there are plenty of topics that are off limits.
"John and I don't talk a lot about what happened, there's a lot of things we're gonna always keep private," she said. "So there's a lot that people aren't gonna know [about] why we broke up, that we're working on and making each other even better people."
Ultimately, Bella told listeners that she’s glad Cena is able to move on with his love life following their highly publicized breakup.
"But because of how sad I made him and how much I felt like I hurt him, when I saw the big smile on his face with the paparazzi photos, I think that's why I didn't wanna s**t my pants, I felt happy for him," she said. "So, those are my thoughts...I'm very happy for him. As long as John is happy, I'm happy, but let me tell you, if she breaks his heart, wow...I will rack attack her in a heartbeat. Still protective of that man."
"John is an amazing man," Bella concluded. "And, you know what? Our timing wasn't right. And, who knows, can timing be right for us in the future? Maybe, maybe not. Are we meant for other people? Maybe."
In the season finale of Total Bellas in March, Bella reflected on the possibility of seeing Cena with another woman, stating: "No matter what, the next time I see him with someone it's gonna kill me."
However, later she added, "I'm ready for a new me. I need it."
Like Cena, Bella is also dating someone new -- Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev.
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