John Cena Reveals How He Went from Living in His Car to Helping His Family Financially (Exclusive)
John Cena Reveals How He Went from Living in His Car to Helping His Family Financially (Exclusive)
Natasha DyeSat, April 18, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC
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John Cena and his wife Shay on July 1, 2025Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage -
John Cena tells PEOPLE how he's adjusting to retired life with his wife Shay after his final WWE match in December
Cena shares how a conversation with his brother and growing up "in an environment where everyone around me was in debt" inspired him to support expanding financial education with Chime
Cena says the thing he and wife Shay like to splurge on is nice coffee and quality wine so they have time to "connect" each day
John Cena is finding more time for family after retiring from the WWE.
Cena —who is still hard at work preparing to host WrestleMania 42 on April 18, filming a romantic comedy for Netflix and taking on a new partnership with Chime — tells PEOPLE, "Of course I miss being in the ring," but says he's been able to find more time for friends and family since ending his wrestling career.
"You close one chapter and who knows what other one opens," says Cena, 48, whose experience living in his car before making it big in the WWE shaped the way he sees financial responsibility today. "I came up in an environment where everyone around me was in debt, no one was well off, and nobody taught anybody," he recalls.
John Cena on Dec. 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.Credit: Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty
Now that the multitalented Cena has more time on his hands, he's passionate about bettering financial literacy resources, and even more so after a recent conversation with one of his four brothers.
"I had coffee with one of my brothers, and he was pretty depressed," says Cena. "I'm like, 'Hey man, what do you want out of life?' and he said, 'To be happy,' and I love that statement, but my follow-up question was, 'What does that mean?' and he said, 'I don't know.' "
"So, money simply is just a tool, and I think so many people, just my perspective, who are struggling to financially just want to feel safe, but they have no idea what safe means," says the wrestler, who has been proactive about helping his family with their financial health.
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"I have four brothers, I've helped three of them with their own financial education. I've helped my mom, I've helped my dad a little bit, I've helped my cousin, and I'm kind of doing this stuff in my free time anyway, so I'm really grateful that Chime found me," he says.
Cena also tells PEOPLE his new free time after WWE retirement has allowed for more quality time with his wife Shay. When Cena was trying to balance "doing movies and sports entertainment and WWE at the same time," he says "the one thing that felt deficient was my relationship with [Shay]."
"Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day to do that, and she's such a trooper in understanding that," says Cena. "I think we've managed to find a little more time for each other, which we truly both appreciate."
John Cena and his wife Shay Shariatzadeh on June 24, 2025Credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty
And what does someone as financially responsible as Cena, who is partnering with the banking company to promote their new premium membership tier Chime Prime, like to do when that quality time comes around?
"My wife and I try to start our days with coffee to discuss our plan, and maybe reflect," he shares. "We journal, we talk, and at the end of the day, we'll end our days whenever we can with date nights that include a neat spirit or a bottle of wine shared between us, and it acts as a conduit for conversation."
"I'd say those coffee or date night drinks are probably things that I'd splurge on, but the yield is tremendous because I get a deeper connection with people I love, and we've had some wonderful nights and wonderful mornings around the breakfast and dinner table."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
