Anyone who knows anything about former WWE Champion John Cena knows that he's quite a unique individual.

Fans got a glimpse into just how particular Cena is during his time on both Total Bellas and Total Divas, the reality shows starring his ex-girlfriend, Nikki Bella.

Cena dated the former WWE Superstar for several years, with the pair even getting engaged at WrestleMania 33 before breaking up shortly afterwards.

One of the storylines throughout both shows focused on the lifestyle that Cena likes to live, which included giving his girlfriend Nikki several rules.

So, as covered by The Richest, here are the 15 absolutely bonkers rules that Cena used to ask Nikki to follow while they were dating.


15. A guest in his home

Nikki and John moved in together during their relationship, but before that could happen, Cena asked his partner to sign a 75-page contract, making it clear that she was just a guest in his home.

One of the clauses in the lengthy contract stated that should Cena and Bella break up, which they did, Nikki much immediately leave the house.

Cena had a rough history with women in the past, so wanted to make sure he was properly protected if his relationship with Nikki didn't go the distance.

A particular episode of Total Divas highlighted the exact words that Cena said to Nikki about what could happen if they break up, and it makes for some harsh reading.

I do not want there to be any misunderstanding regarding your presence at the home as my guest. In the event that I ask you to vacate the home, you agree to immediately vacate the home and remove any and all items you have brought into the home as soon as possible.


14. Total Divas & Total Bellas

Many fans were surprised, given how particular he is with his life, that Cena even consented to being involved with both Total Divas and Total Bellas for as long as he did.

The Richest reveals that Cena made it clear that he would only be filmed for the show went he wanted to be, meaning the cameras couldn't film him 24/7 like they were able to for the other cast members.

That's why, if you didn't realise, that so many scenes in Total Bellas featured Bryan Daniel and The Bella Twins, but no John Cena.


13. Tracking Nikki's calories

Nikki wanted Cena to try and get her into better shape, which sometimes made for some rather uncomfortable conversations.

Following an injury, Nikki wanted to get into better shape so asked Cena to help, and in doing so, he wanted his partner to track her calories.

Cena was extremely strict with Nikki in that regard, and an argument even erupted between the two over how many calories she consumed while eating out at a restaraunt.


12. Dressing appropriately

John Cena Nikki Bella WWE

John Cena and Nikki Bella were engaged for a period of time

We've all got into tracksuit bottoms for a casual dinner at home, but that isn't something that Cena is interested in doing.

As covered in Total Bellas, Cena wanted everybody while eating in the evening in his home to dress in formal attire for dinner.

The same was obviously the case for when they eat out, but even if they're the only ones in the home and they're eating dinner in the evening, Cena wanted Nikki to dress formally, as he'd also be wearing a suit.

This even extended beyond Nikki, with Daniel Bryan being asked to wear a suit while at Cena's house for dinner with his wife, Brie Bella.

Cena explained that he didn't have a lot growing up, so he wanted to be able to appreciate the fantastic life that he was able to build for himself while working for WWE, and while that does sound quite wholesome, it doesn't make the request any less bizarre.


11. No photos

In 2013, during an episode of Total Divas, we first started to see that Cena had quite a few unique rules for Nikki during the pair's relationship.

One of those rules, and one that Nikki wasn't too happy with, is that she wasn't able to take any personal photos for Cena, who let's not forget, was her boyfriend at the time.

Nikki probably missed out on a few big-hitters on Instagram as a result...


10. Money

This one isn't too uncommon, and does happen with a lot of celebrity relationships, but one of the main reasons behind Cena wanting Nikki to sign the aforementioned massive contract was due to money.

Cena wanted to protect his assets, due to the fact that he's been supporting his family for the majority of his career, and made that clear to Nikki before they started the relationship.

While some fans thought the rule was too harsh, and suggested that Cena didn't trust Nikki, others saw this as Cena just being cautious, viewing the contract as practical and even smart.

One thing you can say about Cena is that he didn't hide who he was or blindside Nikki with these rules. He was clear right from the beginning about who he was and what the wanted to do.


9. Clothing hampers

John Cena doesn't think he's going to win another WWE world title

John Cena was involved in both Total Divas and Total Bellas

Backing to clothing, and another of Cena's rules was that Nikki had to use different clothing hampers to him.

John was quite particular about his laundry, and explained to Nikki that one of the hampers in the bathroom was just for gym clothes, while the other was used for fancy clothes.

Again, in isolation, this request wasn't too bizarre but coupled with all of the others that we've already covered and those that we haven't yet, continue to paint a picture of Cena being an incredibly particular man.


8. No pets

Who doesn't love a dog? Well, John Cena seemingly.

When John Cena was on the road, Nikki decided it'd be a good idea to get a dog, buying a Frenchie called Winston.

The dog bit Cena, and he wasn't too pleased about it, explaining that he simply didn;t have the time to contribute to raising a dog.

I know I cannot handle raising a child. It’s like with the dog. My biggest thing to Nicole about the dog was: Love dogs, but I can’t contribute to taking care of one. I don’t have the time.

The dogs clearly didn't like Cena, as Bryan and Brie's dog Josie also bit the ex-WWE Champion, and he lost his cool telling them to call animal control.

You should call animal control, and they should come out and take the dog away.


7. Tidy house

From his early days appearing on Total Divas, it was clear that John is incredibly houseproud and wants to keep his home neat and tidy at all times.

Cena wasn't best pleased when Nikki decided to cook him a surprise dinner during one episode, and cleaned the kitchen frantically after she was done preparing the meal.

The same was extended to guests in Cena's home, with Brie and Bryan having to take their shoes off at all times while in Cena's home, amongst many other things.


6. No badmouthing WWE

John Cena had a set of rules for Nikki Bella

John Cena had a set of rules for Nikki Bella

As The Richest note, Cena and Nikki didn't speak about this specific rule on the show, with it being an "unwritten rule".

Cena is hugely loyal to WWE, and has gone on the record to say that he loves the company more than he loves anything else in the world.

The list seems to suggest that Cena didn't want Nikki to badmouth WWE at all, but to be honest, not badmouthing your employer on national TV is just pretty sound career advice in general.


5. Evening fire & cigar room

Nikki and other guests in the Cena house were asked to always attend a fire in the evening in John's garden.

In a rule that was actually quite sweet, Cena asked the group to come together before dinner to have some wine and talk about their respective days.

This was actually one of the rules that Nikki didn't seem to mind too much, but the same can't be said for Cena's cigar room.

Another of Cena's rituals is that after dinner, the male guests in the house retreat to the cigar room away from the ladies in the house, something that Daniel Bryan didn't seem to enjoy too much.


4. The morning

Speaking to The Bella Twins, Daniel Bryan, Nikki's brother, sister-in-law, mother and father-in-law, Cena explained that the guests also had to have coffee together every morning.

“Every morning we will have morning coffee together, we will have an evening fire outside. If you guys are gonna be up late, please text me or tell me. Do you have any questions?"

This meant that if guests were staying up late and wouldn't be able to make the morning coffee, they had to personally text or tell Cena and let him know.

In isolation, wanting to spend time with your guests over a coffee isn't the weirdest thing, but the strictness in which the rules were enforced certainly did raise a few eyebrows during the show.


3. Power of Attorney

John Cena and Nikki Bella were once engaged

John Cena and Nikki Bella were once engaged

During the show, as the pair were in love and dating, Nikki asked Cena if he'd be her power of attorney, but unfortunately, Cena didn't want his girlfriend to be his.

Beyond that, Cena even refused to be Nikki's power of attorney, saying that he didn't want to have any responsibility in the matter, something that massively upset the former Divas Champion.

More than that, Cena wouldn't even tell Nikki who he'd asked to be his power of attorney, something that was also brought up during the show and didn't sit well with her.


2. The contract

As we've covered, Cena asked Nikki to sign a mega 75-page contract before he'd allow her to move in with him.

Cena, as you can see from the quotes below, did explain that the contract meant a great deal to him, but it certainly stuck out as majorly bonkers for a number of fans watching the show.

"Just some sort of thing where I would be protected in case of a disaster…. She [signed it], totally without question, and it made me feel super bad, which I should have, but it also made me realize – and this was early on in our relationship – it made me realize ‘this is one young woman I should not let get out of my life.’ Because when she says ‘I’m with you because I love you, here’s proof I would still like to be here.'”

As we've covered, the contract protected Cena's assets, so wasn't done out of malice, but it did put a dampener on the relationship for a period of time.


1. No kids

One of the main storylines throughout Total Bellas covered how Nikki Bella really wanted kids, but it just wasn't something that Cena wanted.

Nikki has gone on to have a son with her husband  Artem Chigvintsev, who she married in 2019, but children wasn't always on the cards for her.

While Cena budged on marriage, after initially not wanting to propose to Nikki, the former WWE star seemed like she'd have to chose between being with Cena or having kids, as it wasn't something he wanted.