In late August, Napa Valley Police were called to the home of Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev and his wife, former WWE star Nikki Garcia (stage name Nikki Bella).
The professional dancer had called the police earlier, saying that his wife had thrown a shoe at him during an argument and that he needed medical assistance. He tried to call back and cancel the medical call, but police had already been dispatched to the scene.
After arriving at their home and talking to both parties, police arrested Mr. Chigvintsev. He was taken into custody and booked into the Napa County Jail on charges of corporal injury to a spouse, a felony domestic violence charge.
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Chigvintsev and his wife met in 2017 on season 25 of Dancing with the Stars when she was cast as his celebrity partner. They dated for three years before welcoming their son, Matteo, in 2020. Two years later, they were married.
Now, just two years after their fairy tale wedding, the couple is headed for divorce. Just two weeks after Chigvintsev was arrested, Garcia headed to a Napa County court and filed for divorce.
The charges against Mr. Chigvintsev have since been dropped; however, the Napa District Attorney said they have three years to file changes if more information comes to light. After the news was made public, Mr. Chigvintsev spoke to the press and said that he was glad the truth had come to light.
However, his sister-in-law — former pro-wrestler Brie Bella — said that the truth would eventually come out, insinuating that Chigvintsev was lying.
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The divorce is still moving full steam ahead, and now things are getting messy.
According to reports, Mr. Chigvintsev and Ms. Garcia have both filed for a restraining order against each other, and they have both been granted those orders.
In each of their requests, Garcia, 40, and Chigvintsev, 42, alleged that the other was the aggressor, providing conflicting details about the disagreement that began during the morning of Aug. 29 while Chigvintsev was preparing breakfast for Matteo.
Garcia claimed, according to the filing, that Chigvintsev had grown “increasingly angry” since he was cut from Dancing with the Stars, where the two met in 2017 when they were paired together on the 25th season of the ABC reality competition series. Though they had previously had discussions about his need to control his anger, the former WWE wrestler claims he snapped and yelled at her during a conversation about how Matteo’s English muffin should be toasted, with Chigvintsev alleging Garcia had made him a “picky eater.”
Chigvintsev, in his filing obtained by PEOPLE, noted that Garcia appeared stressed due to work. He alleged she “escalated the argument” by questioning how he was packing Matteo’s lunchbox and criticizing him for not carrying equal weight of the parental responsibilities, which he said was “absolutely false.” When he left the room to “let her cool down” and get Matteo ready to leave, Garcia followed and continued to lob complaints his way. He insisted his “calm” responses drove her crazy until she “completely lost it,” screaming “‘get the f— out of my house'” and “forcefully throwing both of Matteo’s sneakers at me.”
In her filing, Garcia admitted that she threw shoes at her soon-to-be ex, but she said that they were light and could not have caused any damage. She said that she was overwhelmed by Chigvintsev’s yelling and threw the shoe, which hit his leg.
Both said that Chigvintsev took their toddler upstairs, while he was screaming for his mom. The dancer said that his son was scared of his mother, but she claims that Chigvintsev barricaded himself and their child in a bedroom and would not let her in. He then admitted to removing himself and his wife from the room and said they both ended up on the floor.
Photos were taken, and both Chigvintsev and Garcia appeared to suffer injuries from their fight. Chigvintsev had marks on his finger, arm, and behind his ear. A police officer noted that the former reality star had red marks on her chest and on her arms from where she claimed he had pinned her down.
Since the divorce, Garcia has remained quiet, with her reps asking for privacy during this time. Chigvintsev, however, has raised eyebrows, especially after asking for spousal support from his soon-to-be ex-wife. Ms. Garcia has asked for primary legal and physical custody, while Mr. Chigvintsev has asked for joint legal and physical custody.
Everyone deserves a relationship free from domestic violence. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours per day. You can call (800) 799-7233, visit the website for a confidential chat, or text BEGIN to 88788.