“Everybody has kids. Well, that’s not necessarily true, but a majority of the folks do…I just want to choose to be over here in my lane in life, and I understand that that is not the majority.” — John Cena

John Cena said those words on Trevor Noah’s What Now? podcast, in the episode released on 8 October 2026. The retired wrestler, 49, used the conversation to address the pressure to become a father, saying that just because he’d be a good parent doesn’t make parenthood the right choice for him.

“Just because someone thinks I would be good at something, is that reason enough to do it?” Cena asked. “It is not a commitment where if four months in I’m like, ‘You know, this wasn’t my thing.’”

Cena and his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh, 36, discussed his decision on their first date. They’ve been married since 2020. He described a relationship built on trust and room for each of them to pursue their own interests, explaining that she was doing something in New York while he spoke with Noah.

Cena connects the person he’s become to the time he’s had to learn and experience life without the responsibilities of raising children. He said being able to give those experiences his full attention has helped him develop the wisdom people see when they imagine him as a father.

“I look at the guy in the mirror and he ain’t perfect,” Cena said. “I’m super at peace, and I still want to do more and experience more.”

That answer has stayed with people because it reframes a familiar expectation as a choice rather than a default, and it comes from someone whose public image makes the assumption feel almost automatic.