Artem Chigvintsev is seeking joint custody of his son.
Artem Chigvintsev wants joint custody of his son
The 'Dancing With the Stars' professional's wife Nikki Garcia filed for divorce earlier this week and while she requested sole legal and physical custody of their four-year-old son Matteo, in the dancer's response to her petition, he wants care of the boy to be shared between them.
According to documents obtained by Us Weekly, Artem has also requested spousal support from the former WWE star and asked for her to pay his attorneys fees.
In her own petition, 40-year-old Nikki - who asked for her estranged husband to be given visitation rights to their son - requested the court terminate spousal support for both parties.
Both Artem and Nikki listed the reason for their split as "irreconcilable differences" and confirmed their date of separation as 29 August, the day the 42-year-old dancer was arrested on a domestic violence charge.
Artem was arrested by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant two weeks ago.
Audio of a 911 call obtained by TMZ featured a dispatcher saying the 42-year-old dancer had alleged his spouse had thrown her shoes at him.
The clip featured the dispatcher saying Artem's call "initially came in as requesting medical, but now he is stating he got into an argument with his wife and his wife threw shoes at RP [reporting party].
"There is a child on scene. Medical en route.
"There's an active 415 [disturbing the peace] in the background responsible."
But the dancer then stated he no longer needed medical assistance, with the dispatcher confirming: "RP is stating no medical is needed now."
Artem was booked on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse and released later in the day on $25,000 bond.
The pair met on 'Dancing With the Stars' in 2017 but didn't start dating until the following year, after the retired wrestler had split from John Cena.
They got engaged in January 2020 and married in Paris in August 2022.