Just because John Cena loves kids, doesn't mean he is ready to have any himself.
In a candid interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, which aired Jan. 17, the wrestler-turned-actor opened up about his connection with children through the Make-a-Wish organization.
Host Drew Barrymore praised her guest's "openness" and "kindheartedness," noting that he was the number one grantor of wishes (650 of them to be exact). But when she told the WWE superstar she thinks he would "make the world's greatest father," John, who married Shay Shariatzadeh in October 2020, pushed back on the thought.
"It's hard work to balance the time I need to run myself correctly," he said. "It's 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 days work."
Although he admitted the compliments were "flattering," John said he believes that just because someone is good at something, it's not a strong enough reason to do it.
"You have to have passion for it. You have to have fuel for it," he explained. "It's like saying to someone, ‘Man, you know, you're pretty good with your hands, you'd be a great carpenter,' but if I want to be an actor, I'll be an actor.'
The F9 star, 44, says he's "flipped" whenever a child chooses to use their Make-a-Wish on meeting him and those experiences are fulfilling enough for him.
"I love that joy and I love that connection and that's where I'm at right now," he added. "It is a difficult water to tread because everyone's like ‘well, when,'" he added. "I just know not now."
Prior to marrying Shay, John was in a six-year relationship with Total Bellas star Nikki Bella, but the pair broke off their engagement in May 2018. One of the major reasons cited for the spit was John not wanting to have children.
But never say never. In an interview with The Sun last summer, John said he may be open to having kids at some point.
"I'm a little bit older, a bit wiser," he said. I'm realizing there is life and life exists and it's beautiful — and I think part of that is being a parent, so we'll see."