Brie Bella Says ‘Total Bellas’ Shows Nikki and John Cena’s Split

Viewers at home will see Nikki Bella and John Cena‘s relationship unravel on the upcoming season of Total Bellas, the pro wrestler’s twin sister Brie Bella told PEOPLE Saturday.

“I have to give a lot of credit to John and Nicole,” Brie, 34, said at the Nirvana Food and Wine Festival in Arizona on Saturday. “They really opened up their lives. They wanted to close the curtain and be like, ‘This is it, we’re done.’ My sister is great with her fans in a way where she lets them connect with her…and lets them see the playbook of her life.”

Brie said that Bella, 34, and Cena, 41, allowed the E! network reality show cameras to capture some “very personal conversations.”

“To be honest, I was mind blown,” she said. “[My husband] Bryan and I both said we didn’t think we’d allow them to see those conversations, but they do. I give them a lot of credit. You get to see where they’re at today and see that unravel.”

Brie said she wanted to stop Bella from being so honest while on camera, but forced herself to let her be vulnerable instead.

“I really had to take a step back and allow it and that was really hard on me, because it’s my twin,” she said. “I want to protect her from everything. This has been the hardest season to film for me, because all I want to do is protect her and keep everyone away, but this is what we do.”

“You just want fight for it so hard,” she added. “But at the same time, I remember the oath my sister and I took when we started reality television — we are complete open books, through the good and the bad, and we will let them see it all.”

She also said that Bella is putting on a “brave face” in the wake of the breakup.

“She’s good — they call her fearless Nikki for a reason,” Brie said. “She always puts on that brave face. My sister has more strength than any other woman I know, especially Wonder Woman. She’s bigger than that.”

The event was Bella’s first public appearance sine she announced her split from Cena just three weeks before they were set to wed in Mexico on May 5.

“After much contemplation and 6 years of being together Nikki Bella and John Cena announced today their decision to separate as a couple,” the April 15 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.”