Nikki Garcia Recalls First Interaction With John Cena After Ending Engagement: ‘He Shook My Hand’

Nikki Garcia reunited with her ex-fiancé John Cena earlier this year — and it was all business.

During the Wednesday, June 25, episode of Honestly Cavallari: The Podcast Tour (which filmed in March) the former WWE superstar recalled what it was like coming face-to-face with Cena, 46, at the 2025 Royal Rumble in early February — their first interaction since breaking off their engagement back in 2018.

“It was very quick,” the 41-year-old Total Divas alum told podcast host Kristin Cavallari during the episode, noting that it was kept brief out of “respect” because Cena is a “married man, of course.” (The wrestling legend wed engineer Shay Shariatzadeh in October 2020.)

Nikki — who was a guest on Cavallari’s final podcast stop in New York City alongside her twin sister, Brie — explained that prior to the run-in, she hadn’t seen her ex in “seven, eight years.”

“Wait, hold on. So is that the first time you’ve seen John Cena?,” Cavallari asked her.

Nikki —who retired from WWE in 2023 but made a comeback at this year’s Royal Rumble in Rumble in Indianapolis  — went on to explain that while backstage at the event she was chatting with a group of women. Cena walked up to the circle and “shook everyone’s hand.”

“He shook my hand,” she shared, “No hug.”

Nikki confessed to the Laguna Beach alum that the group was surprised by the simple interaction.

“When he walked away, all the girls were like, ‘Oh my gosh!’’ I’m like, ‘Shh, shh, He’s married, be respectful.’ And that was it.”

Both the Total Bellas alum and the Jackpot! actor kept it very surface level.

“We just said, ‘Hello, good to see you. I think last time we were engaged. I don’t know. It’s been a while,’” said Nikki, adding that their interaction was “nice.”

“It was great because breaking the ice and you know, we just both happened to be back at the same time. It’s a good feeling.”

Nikki and Cena began dating in 2012 and got engaged in 2017. A month before their planned 2018 wedding, the pair split.

“You almost wish it was bad, because it’s so much easier to walk away,” she later told ET of the breakup. “It’s so much harder to walk away when it’s loving.”

She added, “I think a lot of women get into that situation and it’s like, ‘But I love this person, but I don’t know if it’s right for my life,’ and that’s a hard thing about life, is we meet amazing people, but sometimes we’re just meant to live a different life.”

Following her split from Cena, Nikki went on to date her Dancing With the Stars partner Artem Chigvintsev. They got engaged in November 2019 and welcomed son Matteo eight months later. They wed in August 2022, but split two years later after Chigvintsev was arrested for domestic violence.