The Messiest Details About Nikki Garcia And Artem Chigvintsev's Divorce

Nikki Garcia (aka Nikki Bella) and Artem Chigvintsev's real-life "Dancing with the Stars" romance wasn't built to last, and their divorce drama has been seriously contentious. The former couple finalized their split in November, almost three months after Chigvintsev was arrested amid allegations of injuring his spouse that caused a media firestorm. 

"Nikki and Artem have settled their divorce and will not be going to court," Garcia's spokesperson told Page Six. "Nikki's number one priority has always been her son and privacy on the matter. She is thankful for all of the love and support she has received during this difficult time," they added.

The charges against Chigvintsev were dropped and he and the former WWE star settled their split means no nasty court showdown. Chigvintsev also said he was concerned about their son, Matteo, who was 4 years old at the time. "(Matteo) is my world, and being his father is the greatest blessing in my life. All along, my main concern has been for him," Chigvintsev said in a statement. However, the fallout from their divorce has already reached Christina Haack and Josh Hall levels of messy, and we're looking at some of the messiest details.

Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev have accused the other of being quick to anger, resulting in both getting restraining orders. Following Chigvintsev's arrest, both shared their versions of what happened during their altercation in legal documents. Chigvintsev alleged the incident happened because Garcia escalated it, claiming it was because of her they fell to the floor and fought. "I cannot stress enough how many times I pleaded with her to stop and calm down. There was a mutual struggle, and both ended up on the ground. At that moment, I knew that nothing I would say would get to her [and] make her calm down. I was hurt and scared of her continuing on," he alleged (via People). However, in Garcia's legal filing, she accused Chigvintsev of escalating the situation and claimed he allegedly put force on her to stop her from getting up. "[It] felt like she was suffocating," she recalled.

The restraining orders were granted in October 2024 but were dropped in November 2024. "[They] decided to drop the domestic violence restraining orders against each other in an effort to move on with their lives and effectively co-parent their son," Garcia's rep told E! News.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

It was made even clearer that Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev didn't exit their marriage on the best terms amid their very different takes on what custody of their son Matteo should look like. In her September divorce petition, Garcia asked for both physical and legal custody of Matteo while allowing the professional dancer visitation rights.

However, things got messy again after Chigvintsev hit back with his own legal documents. He requested joint physical and legal custody, which was granted the following month.

Neither spoke publicly about why their custody filings differed so drastically. However, Chigvintsev's lawyer told People after the "Dancing with the Stars" couple made it clear they're no longer together, "The parties are focused on co-parenting and working together for the best interests of their son."

Money has become a seriously contentious issue for Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev. In September, Chigvintsev's legal documents asking for joint custody also requested his then-estranged wife pay his legal costs and provide spousal support — but made it clear he didn't want Garcia to be given the same. "As a standard practice, the divorce response preserves Mr. Chigvintsev's financial rights to support and fees," his lawyer told People.

Garcia had previously requested in legal documents that neither she nor Chigvintsev receive spousal support, and a source claimed she wasn't happy with his filing. "Nikki is absolutely furious that Artem is asking for spousal support. She's still in shock and has been asking herself, 'Who the hell did I marry?'" an insider told Life & Style. "She's dumbfounded by Artem's audacity and lack of shame."

Chigvintsev also alleged his and Garcia's messy divorce and the allegations against him resulted in a loss of earnings. In November legal documents, he claimed he'd missed out on around $100,000 because he didn't get work offers. "I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which [Nikki] continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police, than mine," Chigvintsev stated (via TMZ).

Amid all the he-said, she-said surrounding Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev's divorce, things got so messy that both were ordered to take parenting classes to support their son Matteo. The ruling was made by a judge in October when they were granted shared custody of Matteo. 

The judge's decision may have been a long time coming for the exes, as sources have claimed things were volatile between Garcia and Chigvintsev for a while before their split. "Friends are starting to talk, most say it was no secret that Nikki and Artem disagreed a lot and butted heads often. They were verbally abusive towards each other and while the physical allegations were surprising, it wasn't necessarily shocking to learn," a source told Life & Style in October. An insider also claimed Garcia's twin sister Brie Garcia urged her to end the marriage. A source told ET that Brie said, "'Any sort of violence does not fly,' and they were very worried about Nikki and her son."

Artem Chigvintsev made it very clear he won't get back together with Nikki Garcia, despite reports to the contrary. In October, a source told Us Weekly that "Artem has wanted to reconcile with Nikki. He doesn't want the family to be divided, and [would love] to put this behind them." This suggested that it was Garcia who wanted a divorce, not Chigvintsev.

However, the professional dancer vehemently hit back. "The reporting that I wanted to reconcile with Nikki is incorrect," he told People. Chigvintsev's attorney also made it clear he'd not spoken to Garcia in around two weeks amid their restraining orders, despite the two co-parenting their son.

Though Garcia hasn't spoken publicly about the reconciliation claims, a source told Life & Style the "Total Bellas" star also has no plans to reunite with her ex. "There's no going back. Nikki doesn't even recognize Artem as the man she married," they said.