John Cena Recalls Defending His Older Gay Brother From School Bullies: ‘Life Was Tough’

John Cena recently reflected on his early years and his close bond with his siblings. The former WWE champion opened up about the challenges his older brother, Steve Cena, faced due to his sexual orientation, including being bullied at school. Speaking on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Cena shared insights into his upbringing in a rural Massachusetts community with his four brothers. “Life was tough for my brother in high school. Not only was he an introvert and interested in computers, he was also gay. And being gay in the 80s in a small town in Massachusetts, man, that’s an uphill climb,” Cena expressed. The F9 actor recalled how he constantly stood up for his elder brother against bullies and was fiercely protective of him.

As per Today , Steve, now 50, was treated harshly in high school for being a ‘true nerd.’ “He just had a lot of character traits that weren’t in the ‘cool kid’ group, and he’s also holding this secret that he can’t tell or talk to anybody about,” Cena shared. “I really feel for what it must have been like for him growing up,” he added. Despite being a few years younger than Steve, John took on the role of a protector. “That sort of behavior started, like, at 10 years old for me,” the actor explained. “I don’t think I understood what was going on. Kids are harsh, and they form cliques real fast.”

The five brothers spent most of their childhood hanging out with one another, living ‘acres away’ from other children. “There were enough of us to have a basketball team, which means we could do whatever we wanted. We want to play football or baseball, there’s enough of us. We didn’t feel we needed anyone else.” Between the ages of 10 and 12, Cena moved into new ‘social circles’ and developed a desire to confront bullies. “I took on the role of, ‘Hey, if you say something to the younger brothers, I will do my best to throw myself in harm’s way,” The Wall actor shared.

Additionally, Cena also disclosed how students made fun of him for being different.  “I got made fun of for the way I dressed, the music I listened to, the people I associated with, my older brother,” he explained. This prompted him to start lifting weights at the tender age of 12 because he was allegedly getting his ‘ass kicked.’ Eventually, with ‘constant strength training and eating right,’ by the age of 15, he disclosed that he had gained enough weight to match up to the seniors in school. “I walked into physical education class with now seniors who were pushing me down the hill,” he said. “I remember specifically one kid who literally spearheaded the anti-John movement, I closed my locker door and he’s next to me and we were looking at each other like, ‘Is it gonna go down?’”

Cena has always been a fierce advocate of LGBTQ rights, as per TMZ. In 2013, he openly supported WWE star Darren Young for coming out as the first gay wrestler in the league. “My oldest brother is openly gay and coming from a family of five boys, that’s extremely tough to admit that and he’s openly accepted by our family,” he told a reporter then. “I know Darren personally, Darren’s a great guy, that’s a very bold move for him, and congratulations to him for actually doing it.”