LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 22: Professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev attends ABC's 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 23 Finale at The Grove on November 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
After two years of marriage, former WWE wrestler Nikki Garcia has filed for divorce from her husband Artem Chigvintsev, and seeks full legal and physical custody of their four-year-old son, Matteo.
The court documents were filed in Napa Valley, California, on Wednesday and Garcia cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for divorce. She also requested that spousal support for both parties be terminated and that Chigvintsev have visitation rights.
Chigvintsev was arrested two weeks ago at home on charges of corporal injury to spouse. Although neither Chigvintzev nor Garcia has addressed the arrest, Garcia is assumed to be the spouse in question. Chigvintzev was released on $25,000 bail.
A representative for Garcia said that she, “continues to ask for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
Garcia and Chigvintsev met in 2017 when they were paired together to compete on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. Garcia was engaged to John Cena at the time, but their relationship ended in July 2018. By early 2019, Garcia and Chigvintsev revealed their relationship. In November 2019, the couple was engaged, and their son was born in July 2020. They were married two years later.
Garcia had told People at the time of their marriage, “I can’t imagine life without being a mom and experiencing the miracle of life and raising a child. I’m just so family-oriented that I couldn’t imagine not having that family life.”
Just days before Chigvinstev’s arrest, the couple had each separately posted to Instagram to celebrate their anniversary. Next to a wedding photo, Chigvinstev wrote, “Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life without you. You are my everything ❤️.”
Garcia posted a montage of videos throughout their relationship, and captioned the post with the lyrics to “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
She wrote, “This song is our love story. I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem. Having a conversation with He & God. How my feelings felt too soon. It all felt too fast. And then this song came on. And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be. 🙏🏼✨
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