John Cena Said He Wished He Was Already Married to Nikki Bella Days Before Split

Less than two weeks before Nikki Bella announced her split from fiancé John Cena, the WWE superstar said he couldn’t wait to marry his bride-to-be.

Bella announced the two were ending their relationship after six years together Sunday, April 15, but on April 6, Cena told PEOPLE how he already felt married to the Total Bellas star while promoting his movie, Blockers.

“People come up to me and say, ‘I love watching your wife on television.’ And I love that, so that happens to me 10 times before it would be a, ‘Yo man I love your work.’ It’s always, ‘I love watching your wife on television,’” he said, adding that he wished the two had tied the knot “yesterday.”

“I’m already ready to go there and it sounds nice hearing it,” he said of fans calling Bella his wife. “I know that we will have a wonderful future together because I love the way that sounds.”

Things clearly changed for at least one of the two pro wrestlers since then, with Bella releasing a statement about the split on social media Sunday.

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

Cena for his part, posted a Walt Whitman quote on Instagram before the announcement.

“We were together. I forget the rest,” Cena posted on Instagram without a caption.

Additionally on the April 6 interview, Cena opened up about planning the wedding, which was allegedly planned to go down in May.

“I want it yesterday, but we have a date,” Cena told PEOPLE at the time. “I’m excited, but I also have great perspective that I want the day to be important for Nicole.”

The former Dancing With the Stars contestant had been taking the lead when it came to wedding planning.

“All that information rests on her shoulders,” Cena said. “I’m involved in every single step of the process, but I am like the last checkpoint. So, let’s say, décor will be chosen. And then I’ll be given three options but be nudged to like number two. I will politely agree to number two, but I am very much actively a part of the process.”

Photo credit: WWE