Niki Bella announces split with John Cena 3 weeks to their wedding

WWE superstar John Cena has split from his fiancee Nikki Bella less than 20 days before their wedding. In a statement published by Nikki and her twin sister's Twitter account the WWE diva told fans they were separating but Cena is yet to comment on the issue. "After much contemplation and six years of being together, Nikki Bella and John Cena announced today their decision to separate as a couple," the statement read. "While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another. We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives."

Nikki also spoke on her 'intimate' wedding to John Cena: "I'm not a diva wedding planner – Brie is!"

Both WWE superstars were due to get hooked on May, 5, having got officially got engaged in last year's WrestleMania 33. The pair have been dating since 2012 and Cena gave a hint on how his relationship with Nikki has been faring. "Don't ever think that love is easy. Love is beautiful, but we've had to come to the realization after being together for five years that love is not easy. "We work every day on us. We have our problems just like everybody else. Some of our problems are very public, some of them aren't. "But we work every day on us. Anytime I get upset, I always just realize that I can't live without her and I love her and that's why I cave in on a lot of stuff," Cena told Us Weekly.

The 13-time world heavyweight champion revealed their separate work schedules kept them apart for up to a month a times but said they focused on each other when they finally had time together. "I think, for now at least, that is certainly what's making this work," he added. Cena tweeted a few days ago a message that hinted his relationship was facing challenges. "Life is funny sometimes. One minute it's kissing and hugging on you, the next it's kicking ya square in the nugget bag. Moments make the journey and the powerful play goes on," he wrote on April 12. Another tweet from the superstar said something about accountability and forgiveness. "We all have good and bad days. No one is perfect, but if you happen to do something to make someone feel bad, TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY for your actions, APOLOGIZE, and ASK FORGIVENESS," he told his followers.

Details about their split have not been made public yet but as recently as April, 7, Cena was calling Nikki a "keeper" after she tweeted a positive appraisal of his new film Blockers. In Wrestlemania 34, Cena was destroyed by the Undertaker after calling out the dead man in consecutive events of Monday Night RAW preceding the showpiece in New Orleans.

By Mercy Kukah