John Cena and Nikki Bella surprised fans when they announced their split [1] just a few weeks before their May 5 wedding. The stars have shared many cute moments together [2], but according to People, there were serious issues in their relationship, which is why Nikki called off their nuptials [3].

"He was making it abundantly clear that he was going into this gritting his teeth the whole way. Nikki is an amazing, talented, strong, one-of-a-kind woman. Anyone would be lucky to have her in their life — yet John acted more and more like he was doing her a favor by somehow conceding to go ahead and marry her," a source said. "[Nikki] doesn't need a pity proposal, a pity wedding, a pity husband. She's a phenomenal, tremendous woman."

John, who's been married before, had been very vocal about not wanting to get married again or having kids before he proposed during Wrestlemania [4] in April 2017. His views on marriage and kids were heavily documented on the E! reality shows Total Divas and Total Bellas. In a 2013 episode of Total Divas, John specifically told Nikki having kids was not in the future for him [5] after she expressed her desire to be a mom. According to Entertainment Tonight, the reason behind the split is that the two just couldn't agree on starting a family [6].

"Nikki and John truly love each other, but they will never have the same view on a perfect future," a source said. "Nikki has always dreamt of having a family of her own and John does not want children and that was the main cause of their break-up. They are both dedicated to their careers, but Nikki wants more than just that."