In a shocking move, Nikki Garcia, who is a former WWE superstar known as Nikki Bella, has already filed for divorce against her husband, Artem Chigvintsev, just two weeks from his arrest due to domestic violence. The husband and wife have been married for two years and have a four-year-old son, Matteo.
It happened on August 29 in the Napa Valley residence of Chigvintsev and his wife. He is a former pro on Dancing with the Stars. The police—Napa County Sheriff’s Department—said he had been charged with felony corporal injury to a spouse. An official document from the Napa County Sheriff’s Department didn’t name the victim, but reports declare Garcia was present at the scene. Sources close to the incident revealed that Chigvintsev had dialed 911 for medical assistance but later tried to cancel the call. The police nonetheless arrived at the incident site and observed that the victim still had fresh bruises, so they had to take Chigvintsev into custody. He was released almost immediately after he posted $25,000 bail.
This really shocked all the people who knew them, especially those in their inner circle, because this was a marriage that had always seemed so lovingly perfect and stable. Insiders said, however, their marriage had been stormy, and the tensions had been building up. Speculation about their separation picked momentum when Garcia was seen sans her wedding ring at a public event, only days after the arrest. Although, just days before the incident, they celebrated their second wedding anniversary with the befitting loving tributes by both on their Instagram, it was reported that allegations of domestic violence cast a dark shadow upon what once was hailed as a celebrated relationship.
Soon after the arrest, Garcia started looking for a lawyer, and her decision to file for divorce came out pretty fast. Insiders say that she wanted to keep this away from her son, and she wants to move on in life independently. Neither representative of the spouses is ready for further comments over the issue, requesting privacy during the time of turmoil.
It’s even more disheartening since they fell in love on Dancing with the Stars back in 2017 and built a more-than-perfect love story. They had gotten engaged in 2020, followed by an August 2022 wedding. For fans who followed the developing story through social media and reality television programs, this was an out-of-the-blue incident.
Both Garcia and Chigvintsev have been relatively silent as the wheels of justice grind, having made no significant public statements except for requests for privacy. The future for their family, most of all for their young son, is uncertain; however, the filing of divorce represents a concrete step toward closure for Garcia from a deeply personal and highly publicized ordeal.
