Artem Chigvintsev Gets Legal Win Over Nikki Garcia in Divorce Case

Artem Chigvintsev scored a victory in a recent 2-hour hearing in his Nikki Garcia (AKA Bella) divorce and custody case. TMZ reports the estranged pair had a hearing in Napa County, California court during which a judge ordered the exes to share custody of their son, 4-year-old Matteo. The former Dancing With the Stars pro requested joint custody of the toddler when he responded to her divorce filing in September.

The former WWE star sought sole custody of Matteo and requested Artem have supervised visitation with their son and undergo anger management classes in the wake of a domestic violence incident he was arrested for. A judge has ordered both to attend individual therapy and parenting classes. The goal is for them to learn to properly co-parent Matteo together.

Garcia was granted a restraining order against Artem after she detailed alleged abuse from her husband. He claims that Garcia has been the aggressor and said she lied in her request. In the filing, he provided the court with photos of what he says are injuries to his hand, elbow and the back of his head, all of which he says Garcia caused. 

In one incident, he claimed he was cooking breakfast for their son when Garcia began stressing over what to wear to an upcoming Netflix event and began arguing with him over her not liking the way he was toasting bread. The argument then escalated to her reportedly complaining over him making lunch for their son and not dressing him to her liking. He then claims she angrily threw the toddler’s sneakers at his chest in front of their son.

Artem was arrested for domestic violence at the end of the summer, but the Napa County District Attorney decided not to file criminal charges. Their divorce trial is set for December.