It hasn’t been an easy time recently for Dancing with the Stars alum Artem Chigvintsev. He admits that his previous domestic violence arrest didn’t just effectively end his marriage to Nikki Garcia, it also completely ruined his life.
In August 2024, Artem was arrested following an alleged incident with then-wife Nikki. After a thorough investigation into the incident, the charges against Artem were dropped by the Napa County District Attorney. However, by then the damage had been done.
Artem said that no matter what, people thought he was guilty
Artem spoke with a Glamorous Grind podcast and shared the challenges he faced after the arrest and its impact on his professional and personal life.
“From every angle, it ruined my life completely,” he shared. And it didn’t matter if the charges were dropped. Once his mugshot was released, people just assumed his guilt.
“There is nothing you can say to try to justify yourself or change their minds,” he explained. “It’s weird because in this country I thought, you’re innocent until proven guilty. That was not the case whatsoever.”
After the arrest, things became quite difficult for Artem. He temporarily left DWTS and he had to navigate a messy divorce with Nikki which went through restraining orders and spousal support drama. Worst of all, he missed his son, Matteo, who he didn’t see for several weeks.
Eventually, the two reached crested the hill. They both dropped the restraining orders, settled on custody, and finalized their divorce settlement in 2024.
Artem felt they came to an agreement because they wanted to move on with their lives. “I wanted it to be over. I felt, for me personally, I needed to go back to live my life and I just needed to move on emotionally, financially,” the DWTS pro shared.
Plus, being without his son was too hard on him and was “hands down” the hardest thing about the situation.
“When you don’t see your son because it’s your choice that’s one thing,” he said. “But 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.”
Dancing with the Stars streams on Disney+.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK ARTEM’S TREATMENT WAS UNFAIR? OR WAS IT JUSTIFIED?
