Artem Chigvintsev was spotted in the audience during the 500th episode of Dancing With the Stars amid his recent legal and marital troubles.
The former DWTS pro, 42, appeared in a video shared by fellow former pro, Peta Murgatroyd, via Instagram Stories on Tuesday, November 12. Murgatroyd filmed herself, Chigvintsev and another DWTS alum, her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, dancing in the crowd during Tuesday’s live broadcast.
Chigvintsev’s return to the ballroom comes after he was left off the DWTS season 33 roster and after his August 29 domestic violence arrest following an alleged altercation with now-estranged wife Nikki Garcia. He was released on bail the same day, and a judge declined to charge the Russian dance pro in September.
Since the arrest, Chigvintsev and Garcia, 40, have each filed for divorce. (The former wrestler is seeking full custody of their 4-year-old son, Matteo, while Chigvintsev requested joint custody.)
In a recent court filing obtained by the Daily Mail, Chigvintsev claimed he lost $100,000 in potential income since his arrest and asked a Napa County court to order Garcia to cover his lost earnings, rent and a portion of his legal fees.
“It is not true that I have not been able to find other work as a dancer. I normally start jobs in November and it goes for 20 weekends,” he said in the court documents filed October 31, per the Mail. “After the mugshot and the arrest based on her false allegations, I was taken off the website faculty list resulting in loss of over $100K in income.”
Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev started dating following her broken engagement to ex John Cena — but their romance ended in September 2024. Nearly seven months after Garcia, who once wrestled under the name Nikki Bella, and Cena split for good in July 2018, Us Weekly confirmed that she and the Dancing With the Stars […]
“I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which she continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police than mine,” Chigvintsev claimed in the docs, asserting that Garcia is the one with “anger issues.”
He added, “She is the one with the temper. I try to stay quiet and avoid it. She yells, and [in August] was yelling, pursuing me, and was the one who attacked me. It is further a lie that I was growing increasingly angry, snapping at her, and yelling. I was not violent with her and did not violently grab or yell at her.”
Garcia did not publicly respond to Chigvintsev’s latest claims, news of which broke on November 6. She was previously granted a restraining order against her estranged husband in September after claiming he once “violently grabbed” her waist during an altercation.
An event years in the making! Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev tied the knot in August 2022, but their journey to the altar wasn’t easy — and their nuptials happened much later than they originally planned. The WWE star, 39, and the Dancing With the Stars pro, 40, took fans inside their wedding planning process […]
“Due to the incident that led to Artem’s arrest on August 29, 2024, Nikki has decided to file for a temporary Domestic Violence Restraining Order to protect herself and her son,” a rep for Garcia told Us Weekly at the time. “Although Nikki requested that the Napa District Attorney not file charges against Artem as she did not want him to go to jail, he must still be held accountable for his actions, and Nikki and her son must be protected.”
The spokesperson added, “Nikki’s number one priority has always been the wellbeing of her son. She is thankful for all of the love and support she has received and continues to ask for privacy for her and her family during this difficult time.”
