Artem Chigvintsev has requested spousal support from his estranged wife, Nikki Garcia, in court documents filed on Friday.
According to docs obtained by Us Weekly, the “Dancing with the Stars” pro dancer also asked she pay his attorney and legal fees. Additionally, he requested joint legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old son, Matteo.
Garcia, known professionally as Nikki Bella, requested sole legal and physical custody of their son when she filed for divorce on Wednesday. However, she said her estranged husband could have visitation rights.
The retired WWE star, 40, filed for divorce less than two weeks after Chigvintsev, 42, was arrested for domestic violence at their Napa Valley, Calif. home.
She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split and listed their date of separation as Aug. 29, the same day of the incident.
The pro dancer was taken into police custody last month after he called law enforcement to send medical assistance to their residence. Though he called again to cancel his request, officers showed up at their door.
“For domestic violence, if someone picks up the phone and says, ‘You don’t have to come after all,’ we’re still going to go for a welfare check. We’re not just going to stop what we’re doing,” a public information officer for the Napa County’s Sheriff’s Office explained to Page Six following his arrest.
After police surveyed the scene, they took Chigvintsev into custody and he was booked into Napa County Jail on a felony domestic violence charge — specifically, California’s penal code 273.5(a), which states it is unlawful to inflict “injury resulting in a traumatic condition” to a spouse or former spouse, cohabitant or someone who the assailant was romantically involved with at any point.
He was booked just before 11 a.m. local time but was released from police custody after he posted his $25,000 bail at around 2:15 p.m.
The domestic violence incident occurred just days after the pair celebrated their second wedding anniversary.
Garcia said on the Aug. 28 episode of her “Nikki & Brie Show” podcast that she was excited to spend time with Chigvintsev at a spa and “communicate about” their marriage.
She explained, “Where are we at, what are you loving, what are you not loving?”
“We had such a great conversation and made not goals for the next years of marriage but [figuring out] what are some things we can add into our marriage or are looking forward to in our marriage?”
Sources close to the estranged couple told TMZ this week that they were not shocked about the unfortunate turn of events because their marriage was “volatile.”
Garcia and Chigvintsev — who was once accused of “kicking and shoving” a “Dancing with the Stars” partner — wed in August 2022.
They welcomed their son in August 2020.
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-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
