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Nikki Garcia has filed for divorce from her estranged husband, Artem Chigvintsev.
Just under two weeks after Artem, 42, was arrested for domestic violence, the 40-year-old Dancing With the Stars alum and WWE performer filed documents to end their marriage after two years and one child.
According to online records obtained by TMZ on September 11, Nikki’s request for a dissolution of their marriage was submitted in court on Wednesday after she hired divorce lawyer Evan Craig Itzkowitz.
As fans have surely heard, Artem was taken into custody on a felony charge of corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant after an alleged attack on his wife. Although it was Artem who called 911 for a medical emergency, claiming Nikki had thrown a shoe at him, he ultimately canceled the request. However, cops showed up anyway and observed an alleged injury on his victim’s body.
In the weeks since, Nikki has been living in their marital home in Napa Valley with their four-year-old son, Matteo, as Artem resides at the home of a friend.
While Artem was said to be trying to win Nikki back after the incident, she is reportedly unwilling to move past the “serious” situation.
“Nikki, [her sister] Brie and their family are too strong to let this slide and to let this kind of behavior be OK, especially around a child,” an insider told Us Weekly on September 11.
Following the encounter, Napa Valley Sheriff PIO Henry Wofford told Us Weekly he had an opportunity to speak to the victim and that Artem “was arrested without incident.”
“He was not fighting or combative,” the sheriff confirmed.
Despite the magnitude of the situation, Nikki has continued to work, co-hosting Netflix’s live Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef just days after Artem’s arrest.
“Nikki was excited for her job and seemed happy,” a second source said, noting that she was without her wedding ring at the appearance and in “great spirits” during her trip to Las Vegas.
She “seemed like a really good mom,” the insider added, stating that Nikki was “attentive” to Matteo throughout the day.
“She was extremely friendly and seemed happy, as if nothing had just happened between her and Artem,” the source added. “Nikki put on a brave face and didn’t let the incident affect her.”
Nikki and Artem met amid DWTS season 25 in 2017 and began dating one year later after her split from John Cena, 47. They then became engaged in January 2020 and got married in August 2022.