Nearly six months after he was arrested for domestic violence, Artem Chigvintsev opened up about the incident for the first time. While appearing on the Glamorous Grind podcast, the former Dancing With the Stars pro revealed more details about the arrest. He said the incident “completely ruined everything” in his life.
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“From every angle, it ruined my life completely,” he claimed. “The worst part about all of this, because [the] DA dropped the case, clearly stating that there was nothing that they could possibly have charged me on.”
Chigvintsev was arrested following a dispute between him and his then-wife, Nikki Garcia (aka Nikki Bella), at their Napa, California, home. He had called 911, claiming there was a fight and his wife had thrown a shoe at him. Minutes after the initial call, he called back to try to call off paramedics.
The authorities still arrived on the scene, and Chigvintsev was arrested as well as jailed for the felony corporal injury to a spouse. He was released hours later after he paid the $25,000 bail. He and Garcia filed for divorce just days after the incident. Their divorce was finalized a few months later. The couple shares a son, Matteo.
Continuing to speak out about the ordeal, Chigvintsev said, “There is nothing you can say or try to justify yourself and change their minds. When [a] person [has] a mugshot, you’re guilty immediately. There is not even a question of, like, what happened. It’s weird because in this country I thought… you’re innocent until proven guilty. That was not the case whatsoever.”
Artem Chigvintsev Said the Divorce From Nikki Garcia After the Domestic Violence Incident Wasn’t His Idea
Meanwhile, Artem Chigvintsev spoke about the divorce settlement, saying, “I wanted it to be over. I felt, for me personally, I needed to go back to live my life and just I needed to move on emotionally, financially.”
He then said, “I just want my life to be normal again.”
Chigvintsev also said that his life had just completely changed immediately after the incident. “People keep forgetting something. I didn’t stop loving [the] person that day, and I just moved on. It wasn’t my decision to get divorced. I was, until the last moment, [suggesting] maybe we should do therapy. Maybe we need to try to figure something out.”
He added, “My ideal scenario is, like, keeping the family together, united. It was a huge closure of seven years. I will never forget this moment when Matteo loved [the] three of us being together.”