Nikki Bella thanks ex-fiance John Cena in WWE Hall of Fame speech

Nikki Bella had nothing but kind words for her ex-fiancé, John Cena, when she mentioned him during a recent speech.

The former pro wrestler and reality star, 37, briefly expressed her gratitude to Cena as she and her twin sister, Brie Bella, were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

“To John, thank you for teaching me a lot about this business and truly helping me find my fearless side,” she said.

Bella and Cena were together for about six years before separating in 2018. According to Bella, their split was partly due to the fact that she wanted to start a family, while Cena was reluctant to have kids.

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"Overall, we did have such an incredible relationship. It was just two people that wanted two different lives," Bella said on the “Better Together with Maria Menounos” podcast last May. "We were trying so hard to make it one."

"Even in the end when he was willing to give me kids, I could just tell it's not what we wanted,” she added. "I'll never forget, I think it was my life coach, he goes, 'What if he looks at you down the road and just regrets everything, and then you have this child and you've built this life? Is that what you want?' And I remember thinking, that's not what I want. I don't want to force someone to change."

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Bella and Cena have both found happiness in new relationships three years after they went their separate ways.

E! News reported that Cena, 43, tied the knot with his girlfriend, engineer Shay Shariatzadeh, in a quiet ceremony last year. Meanwhile, Bella and her fiancé, “Dancing With the Stars” pro Artem Chigvintsev, welcomed their first child, Matteo, last summer.

Bella said that Cena reached out to congratulate both her and her sister after the twins welcomed babies just one day apart.

“So with the baby, he reached out to Brie and I both,” she told Us Weekly in November. “We haven’t had an individual conversation in gosh, I don’t know how long, but it was very short and sweet!”

Related: The "Total Bellas" star and her twin sister, Brie, are both due this summer.

She added that she and Cena will always have a special bond, and it sounds like they will always be supportive of each other’s careers.

“John and I will be tied forever,” she said. “All I’ve ever wanted was for him to be happy. So, it makes me happy when I see that and, like, him kicking butt in the movie world and all that stuff. I love that!”