Couple Rumors

Artem Chigvintsev Denies ‘Incorrect’ Claims He Wants to Reconcile With Nikki Bella Amid Divorce

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1m ago

Oct 17, 2024 / 9409 Views

Evan Walker

Artem Chigvintsev shut down a recent report that claimed he wants to get back together with estranged wife Nikki Garcia (formerly known as Nikki Bella).

“The reporting that I wanted to reconcile with Nikki is incorrect,” Artem, 42, told People on Wednesday, October 16. The professional dancer’s attorney Ilona Antonyan added that Artem hasn’t had any communication with Nikki, 40, since early October.

Nikki filed for divorce from Artem on September 11 and listed August 29 – the same day he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence – as their date of separation. In her filing, she asked for sole legal and physical custody of the pair’s 4-year-old son, Matteo. Five days later, Artem filed his own paperwork where he requested joint legal and physical custody, as well as spousal support.

On Tuesday, October 15, a judge in Napa County, California, ruled that the estranged couple would share custody of Matteo, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

No criminal charges were filed against Artem following the domestic violence arrest. He and Nikki have both accused the other of being the aggressor in the incident. The former WWE star was granted a restraining order against Artem on September 30, while he received his own protective order against Nikki on October 4.

In Nikki’s restraining order filing, she accused Artem of becoming “increasingly angry” after being cut from Dancing With the Stars. She claimed that her now-estranged husband started yelling at her over how Matteo’s English muffin was toasted during their August 29 argument. Meanwhile, Artem alleged that Nikki “escalated the argument” by accusing him of not taking on as many parental responsibilities as her.

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“[She] completely lost it,” Artem claimed, adding that Nikki allegedly screamed, “Get the f–k out of my house” at him and began “forcefully throwing both of Matteo’s sneakers” at him.

Nikki alleged that Artem “tackled her” and “grabbed my arms and held me on the ground for what felt like 20 to 30 seconds,” while he said he was trying to keep Matteo from witnessing further coNFLict. “I cannot stress enough how many times I pleaded with her to stop and calm down,” Artem said in his filing. “There was a mutual struggle, and both ended up on the ground. At that moment, I knew that nothing I would say would get to her [and] make her calm down. I was hurt and scared of her continuing on. I needed help for her to stop.”

Nikki and Artem had just celebrated their two-year wedding anniversary days before the incident. The two met while Nikki was a contestant on DWTS in 2017. At the time, Nikki was engaged to John Cena. After she and John, 47, split in April 2018, Nikki and Artem started dating at the beginning of the following year.

However, the two “disagreed a lot and butted heads often,” a source previously told Life & Style. “They were verbally abusive towards each other and while the physical allegations were surprising, it wasn’t necessarily shocking to learn.”