John Cena Explains Why He Doesn’t Want to Be a Father Right Now

John Cena was on The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday and was asked about a topic he has addressed in the past — having children. The subject was a point of contention during the 16-time WWE world champion’s relationship with Nikki Bella, which infamously ended one month before they were scheduled to get married in 2018. Cena has since married Shay Shariatzadeh, and while last year he seemed to be more open to the idea, he told Barrymore that he feels now is not the right time. Barrymore insisted Cena would be a great father, and while he accepted the compliment he felt that still didn’t make him qualified for the responsibility. 

“First of all, thank you for the comment,” Cena said. “I really enjoy my life. I have been riding a lightning bolt for quite some time now. I have been given opportunities to do and see things that man, I didn’t even dream of and I had some pretty lofty dreams. It’s hard work. It’s hard work to balance the time, I need to run myself correctly. 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 that I love. And it’s also hard to put in an honest day’s work. This is just my perspective, totally not qualified, but I think just because you might be good at something, for me, is not a strong enough reason to do that. You have to have passion for it. You have to have a fuel for it. It’s like saying to someone, ‘Man, you know you are pretty good with your hands. You would be a great carpenter.’ But if I want to be an actor, I am going to be an actor. Just to say to somebody you have a great interaction with young people, that’s flattering.”

He continued, bringing up his years of work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation — “…The reason I love Make-A-Wish so much is because those are those families’ wishes. You can do anything you want, and Make-A-Wish’s list is enormous, they literally will do anything you want. ‘I want to kick it with John Cena and go see him wrestle.’ That is the coolest thing I have ever heard in my life.”

After going into detail about granting a record number of wishes, he got back to the question by saying, “But all things considered, I love all that, I love that joy. I love that connection and that’s where I’m at right now. It is difficult water to tread because everybody’s like, ‘Well, when?’ I just know not now.”