In opening up for the first time about her bitter divorce from “Dancing With the Stars” pro Artem Chigvintsev, Nikki Garcia apparently didn’t want to get into gritty details for the sake of “privacy.”
But the retired WWE star and Napa County resident still offered plenty of hints about why she was unhappy in the marriage for “a long time,” during a Monday episode of her “The Nikki & Brie Show” podcast with her twin sister, Brie Garcia.
Nikki Garcia also alluded to factors that she believes contributed to the “shocking” Aug. 29 incident of domestic violence, reportedly at their Yountville home. The incident led to Chigvintsev’s arrest on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse, though Napa County prosecutors subsequently declined to file charges and the dancer and his attorney alleged that Garcia was the primary aggressor.
Whatever happened between the ex-couple, Garcia said the incident left her feeling “betrayed” and spurred her to file for divorce after two years of marriage.
In talking about being “so deeply” in love that she would have done “anything” for Chigvintsev, Garcia said, “And when something like this happens and you feel so betrayed. You’re just trying to figure it out, you’re feeling so many different emotions. The whole day was just shocking.”
Presumably for the sake of “privacy,” Garcia, 41, then obliquely referred to the Russian-born ballroom dancer, 42, as “them,” instead of “him,” as she said, “I still wanted great things for them. I wanted them to heal. I wanted them to get help.”
Garcia also referred to Matteo, the 4-year-old son they share, when she said. “I wanted them to be the best version of themselves, because that’s what my son deserves. I don’t want to drag my son’s dad. I want my son to have the greatest dad ever because that’s what my son deserves.”
But Garcia did kind of “drag” her son’s father when she hinted on the podcast that a certain person was having a mid-life crisis over his career and future. She said, “I understand people’s journeys: ‘Mid-life. All you knew came to the end. I’m scared for the future. I’m this age, how do I start over?’”
These comments echo claims Garcia made in divorce papers in October, when she alleged that her husband was “cut” from the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars,” a week before the domestic violence incident, and she said he had begun to “work at a construction job and felt it was beneath him.”
“Since being cut from ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ Artem had been growing increasingly angry, snapping at me, and yelling,” Garcia alleged, according to People. “We had discussions about his need to control his anger.”
Chigvintsev subsequently countered these claims, saying he was still getting work as a professional dancer after “Dancing With the Stars,” TMZ reported last month.
“It is not true that I have not been able to find other work as a dancer,” Chigvintsev said in the court documents, the Daily Mail also reported.
But after Chigvintsev’s arrest, “based on her false allegations,” his mugshot was released to the public, resulting in lost work, he said. In those court papers, Chigvintsev also complained that Garcia’s career has not suffered from the incident, even though “she abused me, not the other way around.”
“I cannot trust her anymore,” Chigvintsev continued, according to court papers. “Not only did she lie to the police so that her career remains intact, ruining mine, but she used the court proceeding to keep our son away from me for almost a month, not letting me see him until this court issued its 50/50 orders on 10/15/2024, which I am very grateful for.”
Both Chigvintsev and Garcia were granted protective orders against each other following his arrest, but both orders were dropped when they settled their divorce last month.
Garcia insisted on the podcast that she didn’t “want anyone’s career destroyed” and said she only ever acted with “love and grace” because “I loved this person so much.”
She moreover offered advice to other women who might be staying in a “toxic,” unhappy relationship — either for the sake of their children or because they don’t want to give up on a “dream” of having “a great love story” and an “incredible love.”
“I wanted it for Matteo,” Garcia said, referring to their son. “You fight for you kids. I tried really hard. We both just … we weren’t bringing out the best in each other.”
“(But) if you’re in a marriage with kids, and you’re waiting for that other person to change, for the person to be who they were years ago, that person isn’t going to come back,” Garcia continued. “That change isn’t going to happen. Don’t drain yourself, waiting for that.”
“It’s been really tough,” Garcia also said during the episode. “I’ve been heartbroken. Sad. You know, you dream of having this family and you have this incredible love and it just goes the other way. And you go from having a great love story to having a terrible one. And I never saw any of it coming, you know, as far as, like, what the ending would be.”
Indeed, Garcia and Chigvintsev’ did seem to be living out “a great love story,” certainly a version involving two reality TV show celebrities.
They met while appearing together on “Dancing With the Stars,” partnering for Season 25 in 2017. They began dating and became engaged in 2020. That year, Garcia also gave birth to their son, Matteo.
Apparently at the behest of Garcia, the couple moved to Napa Valley in 2020, following her retirement from professional wrestling. They married in 2022.
In Napa Valley, Garcia partnered with Brie, who also is her former wrestling partner, in making wine under their Bonita Bonita wine label. The sisters’ Bonita Bonita wine website said they were “families in a place they love and living their dream.”
The “Total Bellas” alum admitted that it’s been a “struggle,” dealing with the split in the public eye as people were being “fed lies” about her. That’s one reason she decided to speak out in Monday’s podcast episode.
“I know the truth and I actually lived it,” Garcia told her sister. “People don’t know what I’ve gone through to what I am going through, and you’re always going to have people just assume things and say things, and then, you know, when they get fed lies, you’re gonna have people also believe things. All I need to do is focus on my healing. I need to focus on Matteo’s healing.”
