‘DWTS’ Pro Artem Chigvintsev Says Domestic Violence Arrest ‘Ruined’ His Life

Artem Chigvintsev says his life was “ruined” by his domestic violence arrest. The Dancing With the Stars alum, who settled his divorce with ex Nikki Garcia late last year, opened up about his August arrest on the Tuesday, Feb, 18 episode of the Glamourous Grind podcast, insisting that the fact he ultimately wasn’t charged with a crime didn’t change much in terms of its impact on his life.

“It completely ruined everything for me,” Chigvintsev, 42, said. “From every angle, it ruined my life completely. The worst part of all of this was because [the] DA dropped the case, clearly stating there was nothing they could possibly have charged me on.”

The dancer, who is father to 4-year-old son Matteo with Garcia, continued, “When people see that mugshot, for them, in their mind, you are immediately guilty. There is nothing you can say or try to justify yourself to change their minds.”

Ultimately, however, Chigvintsev said he didn’t want to draw out finalizing his divorce from Garcia, 41. “I wanted it to be over,” he explained. “I needed to go back to live my life and I need to move on—emotionally, financially—and I just wanted my life to be normal again.”

Chigvintsev and Garcia tied the knot in 2022 after first meeting as partners on Dancing With the Stars in 2017, and the pro dancer said he’s still not quite over the way their relationship ended. “It’s a seven-year relationship,” he explained. “I didn’t stop loving a person that day and then decide to get a divorce. It wasn’t my decision to get a divorce. Until the last minute I was still like, ‘Maybe we should do therapy, maybe we should try to figure something out.’”

Despite his belief that staying together would be better for their son, Chigvintsev confessed there was “relief” in deciding to split in the end. “My ideal scenario is, like, keeping the family together, united. It was a huge closure of seven years. I will never forget this moment when Matteo loved [the] three of us being together,” he said, adding, “Having [the] thought of, this is never gonna be that ever again. You need to move on. I think that closure was huge, because I remember flying from the airport and I was like, ‘Wow, this is just like’ … It was sad, but it also was, I guess, relief because it was done.”