Artem Chigvintsev is opening up about his divorce from Nikki Garcia after his domestic violence arrest!
In Tuesday’s new episode of the Glamorous Grind podcast, the Dancing with the Stars pro dancer reflected on his dramatic last few months, in which he was arrested for a DV incident at his home involving his wife (their 4-year-old son Matteo was also present). He was ultimately not charged with anything after the August arrest — but the damage had been done on his reputation and marriage.
Related: Nikki Says She’s Ready To Have Her ‘Body Rocked’ After Divorce!
Nikki Bella filed for divorce, initially requesting full custody of their child. They both filed restraining orders against each other — it all got nasty FAST! But they ultimately settled in November, and Artem won joint custody. It’s been an emotional whirlwind for them — and now Artem claims the scandal has “completely ruined everything” in his life. Oof.
Speaking freely on the pod, he dished:
“From every angle, it ruined my life completely. 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.”
But that doesn’t mean the public let him off the hook, he continued:
“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.”
As for why he decided to settle so quickly, the Strictly Come Dancing alum said he was just done fighting:
“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. I just want my life to be normal again.”
While he’s not exactly happy about the separation, he is glad to finally have some “closure” after the divorce, the 42-year-old expressed:
“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. 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.”
He said their son was always “so happy” when the three of them were together, and that’s been a really hard thing to deal with now. Artem shared:
“Having [the] thought of, this is never gonna be that ever again. You need to move on. I think that closure was huge, because I remember flying from the airport and I was like, ‘Wow, this is just like’ … It was sad, but it also was, I guess, relief because it was done.”
He’s also glad the legal process is over because it was “draining” — and not just because of how messy it got. No, the worst part was missing his son! For “three-and-a-half weeks” he was unable to see Matteo, which he called “hands down” one of the worst experiences he’s faced, detailing:
“When you don’t see your son because it’s your choice, it’s one thing. When you don’t see your son because it’s someone else’s choice, and you actually legally cannot do it. That’s where it gets, like, I’m helpless over here.”
Yeah, that is brutal. He must have been so relieved when he was awarded joint custody! Given how messy the split was, settling quickly was probably the smart choice. They can all move forward now.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via Glamorous Grind/YouTube & Nikki Garcia/Artem Chigvintsev/Instagram]
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