TW: This article contains discussions of alleged domestic violence in which a child was present.
Former Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev issued a response to his wife, Nikki Garcia, filing for divorce. On August 29, 2024, Artem was arrested for domestic violence. The identity of the victim wasn’t made public, but his wife, and their son, Matteo, were present at the time. As a result, Nikki filed for divorce from Artem on September 13, 2024. And it looks like this will be a contentious divorce.
Artem Chigvintsev is requesting spousal support
Right now, Artem’s case is under review by the District Attorney. After all the evidence is reviewed, the D.A. will determine what charges Artem may face. Meanwhile, Nikki’s friends are reportedly referring to Artem as “a monster.”
In her legal documents, Nikki requested sole physical and legal custody of their son, Matteo. According to US Weekly, in Artem’s court documents, he also listed irreconcilable differences and noted the date of his arrest as the date they separated. However, Artem wants joint physical and legal custody of Matteo.
Plus, Artem is asking that Nikki pay his attorney’s fees and he is requesting spousal support. Isn’t that rich? In addition, Artem declared putative spouse status from August 26, 2022, to January 19, 2023.
A putative spouse believes that they are in a legal marriage, but the marriage is invalid. Although the couple was married in August 2022 in a ceremony in France, they tied the knot in the U.S. in January 2023. Now that is an interesting twist. It is also notable that in her divorce filing, Nikki asked that neither party be given spousal support.
This is going to be a real battle, especially over custody of Matteo.
An Artem-free Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars premieres on September 17 at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT ARTEM ASKED FOR JOINT CUSTODY? DO YOU THINK HE WILL BE AWARDED SPOUSAL SUPPORT?
