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Credit: Screenshot, 'Dancing with the Stars', ABCFor nearly twenty years, millions of fans have been tuning in every week to watch some well-known celebrities spin around the dance floor with ballroom professionals on Dancing with the Stars. The show got millions of people interested in complicated dancing and how the pros transformed even the klutziest celebrities into those who could do complicated moves with ease.
While the pros have changed over the years, there are some who have become fan favorites, including Derek Hough, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Mark Ballas, Julianna Hough, Artem Chigvintzev, and Val Chmerkovskiy.
Related: ABC Reportedly Casts Controversial Felon on Hit Show
And now, one of those stars will not be returning to the show, has an arrest record, and will soon be getting a divorce.
On August 29, Artem Chigvintsev was put in handcuffs and taken into custody on charges that he brutally assaulted his wife, former wrestler, Nikki Garcia, professionally known as Nikki Bella. According to reports, Chigvintsez was taken to the Napa County Jail on charges of corporal injury to a spouse, meaning that he allegedly beat his wife with the intention of causing her injury.
Now, just two weeks after his arrest, Nikki Garcia has decided that her marriage to Chigvintsev is over after two years.
According to a report from PEOPLE, Garcia filed for divorce in Napa Valley, California. That is where the couple lived and where Chigvintsev was arrested.
Garcia, 40, filed the paperwork in Napa Valley, California, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, according to online records obtained by PEOPLE.
The filing comes nearly two weeks after Chigvintsev, 42, was arrested on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse and hours after a source told PEOPLE that Garcia had obtained a divorce lawyer.
PEOPLE has reached out to Chigvintsev’s rep for comment. However, Garcia’s rep confirmed the divorce news to PEOPLE, saying, “Nikki Garcia has filed for divorce. She continues to ask for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
Neither Chigvintsev nor Garcia have commented on the end of their marriage or the circumstances surrounding his arrest.
Prior to Chigvintsev’s arrest, he had reportedly called the police, claiming his wife was assaulting him. He said that he needed medical attention. However, he later called back, saying that medical attention was not needed. Police responded to the scene anyway, and that is when Chigvintsev was arrested.
Unlike a domestic violence charge, which is a misdemeanor, corporal injury to a spouse is a felony in the state of California because the violence is meant to cause injury.
Do you think Nikki Garcia made the right decision to end her marriage? Should Artem Chigvintsev spend time in jail if found guilty of the charges against him?