Artem Chigvintsev wants joint custody and support in Nikki Garcia’s divorce

Artem Chigvintsev responded to estranged wife Nikki Garciadivorce petition.

Chigvintsev, 42, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for his split from Garcia, 40, in documents filed on Friday, Sept. 13, and obtained exclusively by him. We weeklyThe . Dancing with the stars pro listed his divorce date as August 29, the same day he was arrested for domestic violence in Napa Valley, California.

Chigvintsev is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their 4-year-old son, Matteo. Garcia, however, is asking for sole legal and physical custody of their only child.

He is also asking for spousal support from Garcia, as well as for the former WWE star to pay his attorney fees and costs.

Related: Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev’s Relationship Timeline

Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev started dating after her engagement to ex John Cena ended, but their romance ended in September 2024. Nearly seven months after Garcia, who once wrestled under the name Nikki Bella, and Cena called it quits for good in July 2018, Us Weekly confirmed that she and Dancing With the Stars (…)

According to the documents, Chigvintsev is claiming the status of alleged spouse from August 26, 2022, to January 19, 2023. (A supposed spouse is someone who thinks they are legally married but is actually in an invalid marriage. The couple were married in France in August 2022, but the documents say they were married the following January in the United States.)

The professional dancer’s response comes two days after Garcia filed her own documents, Us confirmed.

News of the couple’s split comes nearly two weeks after Chigvintsev was arrested for domestic violence in Napa. According to online jail records, he was arrested on Aug. 29 on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

A spokesperson for Garcia responded to the news in a statement to Us a day later, noting, “This is a private matter, and Nikki requests privacy for her and her family at this time.”

In a 911 dispatch recording obtained by TMZ, Chigvintsev was heard asking for medical attention and accusing Garcia (who once wrestled for WWE under the name Nikki Bella) of throwing shoes at him. He later called back and said he no longer needed medical attention.

Garcia and Chigvintsev met in 2017 when they collaborated for DWTS season 25. At that time, Garcia was still in a relationship with his ex-fiancée John CenaAfter splitting from Cena in 2018, she began dating Chigvintsev the following year.

In January 2020, Garcia announced that she and Chigvintsev were engaged after less than a year of dating. The duo welcomed son Matteo in July of that year. They married in a televised ceremony on E! in 2022.

A year later, many fans speculated whether or not Chigvintsev and Garcia had legally married.

“We were legally married in France and in the United States,” Garcia said Us in January of last year. “I think because we keep our (marriage information) confidential … people went looking and they couldn’t find it.”