"Both marriage and family and family are very difficult obstacles for me. I feel so s--ty because there are certain things I can't give," John tells Nikki in a December 2013 episode of Total Divas.
"It is completely hypothetical. Let's just say I was to ask you to marry me and we get married, is that enough?" John asked Nikki in a September 2014 episode of Total Divas.
After seeing fellow WWE star Nattie Neidhart struggle in her marriage with TJ, Nikki reconsiders hers views on marriage. "I'll admit, seeing them go through all this makes me not want to be married," Nikki told John in an October 2014 episode of Total Divas.
When talking about all their pregnant friends, John gets antsy at a dinner with Nikki. "That makes me get the sweats. It seems like I get a different sonogram photo every week. I don't know where all these kids are coming from," John told Nikki in a September 2015 episode of Total Divas.
"He truly is my knight in shining armor. I definitely think in the future people will be surprised where we end up because I'm seeing him more open to marriage. At least we're taking steps forward, and I honestly couldn't imagine my life without him," Nikki revealed to E! News back in September 2015.
"We can talk about marriage," John says to Nikki in a December 2015 episode of Total Divas.
At their three-year anniversary dinner, John has a change of heart about marriage. "Would I love to marry you? Absolutely. I love you and I love you more than I've loved anyone in my entire life," John tells Nikki in a September 2016 episode of Total Divas.
While in Paris with the WWE, the romantic City of Light had Nikki wishing that John would hurry up and propose to her already. "I wish that John would propose to me," Nikki revealed in an April 2016 episode of Total Divas.
Despite John's change of heart, Nikki is worried John may never propose. "He's been saying he's for marriage for how long and I still haven't been proposed to, but there is nothing wrong with being life partners," Nikki tells Brie in a September 2017 episode of Total Bellas.
After plenty of speculation, John proposed to Nikki at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017. "I have been waiting so long to ask you this," John told Nikki before getting down on one knee. "Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace, will you marry me?"
"I found the right person. I found a strong person that I consider an inspiration. An equal. Someone when I'm down, can pick me up. It took a person that strong to change my life," John revealed on the Today show in April 2017.
"John had mentioned this a long time ago when he wanted to get married, he said, 'I just don't want you to ever think that if I want to marry you and I marry you that means that I want to be a father,'" Nikki said in an exclusive interview to E! News in April 2017.
"It does feel different because I guess now there's a sense of security. I feel like I have a bigger smile and I'm like, 'Yeah I'm taken,'" Nikki told E! News back in May 2017.
When it comes to wedding planning, John is taking the lead, "It's kind of a special time where there is a little bit of lull and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with Nicole and work on that. Hopefully, in the next few weeks the wedding planning is really going to amp up," John told E! News in January 2018.
"Such a wonderful, meaningful, emotional day yesterday with the woman of my dreams and both of our families...I love you Nicole, you've made me realize the importance of togetherness," John tweeted in January of 2018.