Nikki Garcia on Balancing Family Life With Artem Chigvintsev During ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (Exclusive)

The 32nd season of Dancing with the Stars premieres later this year, and that means Artem Chigvintsev will be spending time away from his wife, Nikki Garcia, and their son, Matteo. And while it’s tough for the family to be apart, they have been together long enough to know how to stay connected as much as possible. PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Garcia who revealed how she and her husband balance family while Dancing with the Stars is in production. 

“Just making time for each other,” the former WWE Superstar exclusively told PopCulture. “I’ve already said, ‘All right. So is Mateo and I flying every weekend to Los Angeles?’ Because we’ll still be in Napa, Mateo’s in school, but it’s just making the time to see each other. Artem and I, this will be our, I think, fourth season since we’ve been together. We just have a really good flow. It works really well. I think because I’m in the entertainment world as well, I get it and I understand it. So that’s been the best understanding in our relationship. We know we always have to come and go and just find that time for each other.”

Garcia and Chigvintsev first met while teaming up on Dancing with the Stars during the show’s 25th season in 2017. The two got engaged in 2019 and got married in August 2022. Before getting married, Garcia and Chigvintsev welcomed Matteo into the world in July 2020. 

Garcia knows what it’s like to be away from home since she competed in WWE for many years. But now, the 39-year-old is keeping busy with several projects including the USA Network series Barmageddon which has been renewed for a second season. Garcia gave an update on the show and revealed they have wrapped filming Season 2. 

 “They really went bigger and better this season,” Garcia said. It was so fun to film, to be a part of. The games got bigger. I cry-laugh so much on that show. I’m always like, ‘I can’t believe this is my job. It’s the greatest gig in the world.’ And it was so much fun. It’s just so many great laughs, so many fun games to watch, and a lot of great celebrities.”