John Cena has shared the heartwarming story of how he surprised his mother, Carol, with a brand-new home.
Appearing on the “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” podcast, the WWE legend recalled that the idea came together around the time of the 2008 financial crisis. Land rarely becomes available in his hometown of West Newbury, Massachusetts, but when a property opened up, Cena jumped at the opportunity.
To keep the surprise a secret, he enlisted his brother, Dan, a contractor, to build the house while telling everyone that it was intended for his own move back home.
After two years of keeping the plan under wraps, Cena invited his family over for Thanksgiving under the guise of showing them the completed house. Once everyone had gathered, he handed his mother a birthday gift that contained the keys to the home. He said,
“My mom doesn’t like that, but she wanted to come see the whole house. When everybody gets in the bar room, I give my mom a birthday present, and it’s the key to the house, and she, like, lost it. She’s like, ‘I can’t, I can’t.’ I’m like, ‘No, it’s already taken care of. Movers are coming tomorrow.’”
“My mom was living on the third floor of like a triple family in an attic in 300 square feet with her stuff packed in. And she was just by herself, packed in, and she was content and happy. That’s who my mom is. She’s a lunch-pail blue (collar), like she’d go to work.”
“She wouldn’t accept it. So then I had to negotiate. I had to be a diplomat. I’m like, ‘You don’t understand. There’ll be trucks there tomorrow. Everyone’s on board. We’re going to move your stuff over. I’ll tell you what, it’s already here. This isn’t for me. Could you please at least give it a try so all this doesn’t go to waste?’”
“She was like, ‘Well, if it’s going to waste.’”
“And that was like 15 years ago, and she’s been there ever since. Now it’s her place, and we get together there on holidays, and it’s her place. She earned it. She absolutely earned it.”
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