Artem Chigvintsev and Nikkie Bella Getty Images (2)
Artem Chigvintsev has responded to estranged wife Nikki Garcia‘s divorce filing.
Chigvintsev, 42, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for his split from Garcia, 40, in documents filed on Friday, September 13, and exclusively obtained by Us Weekly. The Dancing With the Stars pro listed the date of separation as August 29, the same day he was arrested for domestic violence in Napa Valley, California.
Chigvintsev is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old son, Matteo. Garcia, however, is requesting sole legal and physical custody of their only child.
He is also requesting spousal support from Garcia. Additionally, he is asking that the former WWE star pay his attorneys fees and costs.
Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev started dating following her broken engagement to ex John Cena — but their romance ended in September 2024. Nearly seven months after Garcia, who once wrestled under the name Nikki Bella, and Cena split for good in July 2018, Us Weekly confirmed that she and the Dancing With the Stars […]
According to the docs, Chigvintsev is claiming putative spouse status from August 26, 2022 to January 19, 2023. (A putative spouse is someone who believes they are legally married but is actually in an invalid marriage. The couple got married in France in August 2022, but the docs say they married stateside the following January.)
Artem Chigvintsev and Nikkie Bella Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
The professional dancer’s response filing comes two days after Garcia filed paperwork of her own, Us confirmed.
News of the couple’s split comes nearly two weeks after Chigvintsev was arrested for domestic battery in Napa. According to online jail records, he was booked on a felony domestic violence charge on August 29.
A rep for Garcia addressed the news in a statement to Us one day later, noting, “This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
In a 911 dispatch recording obtained by TMZ, Chigvintsev was heard requesting medical attention and accused Garcia (who once wrestled for WWE under the name Nikki Bella) of throwing shoes at him. He later called back and said he no longer needed medical assistance.
Garcia and Chigvintsev met in 2017 when they were partnered for DWTS season 25. At the time, Garcia was still dating ex-fiancé John Cena. After splitting from Cena in 2018, she began dating Chigvintsev the following year.
In January 2020, Garcia announced that she and Chigvintsev got engaged after dating for less than one year. The duo welcomed son Matteo in July that year. They tied the knot in a televised ceremony on E! in 2022.
One year later, many fans speculated whether or not Chigvintsev and Garcia had legally tied the knot.
“We’re legally married in France and in the United States,” Garcia told Us in January last year. “I think because we have our [marriage records] confidential … people went and searched and they didn’t find it.”
