Nicki Garcia has filed for divorce from Artem Chigvintsev.
Nikki Garcia has filed for divorce
The former WWE star applied to the courts to end her two-year marriage to the dancer - with whom she has four-year-old son Matteo - on Wednesday (11.09.24), less than two weeks after the 'Dancing With the Stars' professional was arrested on domestic violence charges, online records obtained by TMZ show.
Nikki began looking for divorce lawyers on 30 August, the day after Artem's arrest and the outlet reports she has hired Evan Craig Itzkowitz.
It is unclear if the former couple had a pre-nuptial agreement in place.
Artem was arrested by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant on 29 August.
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 day after his arrest, 40-year-old Nikki appealed for privacy.
Her representative said in a statement: "This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time."
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.