Nikki Garcia Breaks Silence on ‘Really Tough’ Divorce From Artem Chigvintsev

Nikki Garcia is breaking her silence on her split from Artem Chigvintsev after two years of marriage. The former WWE star, 41, opened up for the first time almost two weeks after she and the Dancing With the Stars pro, 42, agreed to settle their divorce and drop their mutual restraining orders.

“I’m going to try my best not to get too emotional in this episode,” Nikki told sister Brie Garcia on the Dec. 2 episode of The Nikki & Brie Show podcast. “But I first want to just thank everyone, the listeners, you, family, friends, coworkers, people I haven’t talked to in a long time, just for all the love and support, for the respect of privacy and space.”

Nikki’s divorce from Chigvintsev came shortly after the dancer was arrested in August on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The Strictly Come Dancing alum, who shares 4-year-old son Matteo with Nikki, was not charged ultimately after prosecutors evaluated the available evidence.

Nikki continued on the podcast, “The past few months, I disconnected from social media, from the world. And I just knew that I needed to disconnect because first things first, I’m a mom and my son’s protection and privacy is the most important. So I was going to do whatever it took for that, most importantly, and then just needing space, for healing, for facing trauma, head-on, all of that. So it’s been tough. It’s been really tough. I’ve been heartbroken, sad.”

The Incomparable author admitted it was a “struggle” to end her marriage after two years, as she had never expected this to be the way it went. “You dream of having this family, and you have this incredible love, and it just goes the other way,” she shared. “And you go from having a great love story to having a terrible one, and [I] never saw any of it coming. You know, as far as what the ending would be. So it’s just been a struggle.”

While Nikki is speaking publicly about her divorce, she did want to keep protecting her son’s privacy throughout it all and focus on their “healing” together. “I’ve been so shocked, like beyond words, and it’s been heartbreaking,” she explained. “You lose your appetite, you cry a lot. And then I also stepped up and made sure everything was okay for Matteo.”

Looking forward to this new chapter, Nikki said that she’s realized “when you know the truth, nothing else matters.” She explained, “So when some of you would come to me and tell me what people were saying or what was out there, it would affect me in some way, but because I know the truth, and I actually lived it, it didn’t have a big effect on me. … All I need to do is focus on my healing. I need to focus on Matteo’s healing.”