'DWTS' Star Artem Chigvintsev Arrested For Domestic Violence

Chigvintsev was arrested in Napa, California days after celebrating his second anniversary with wife and former WWE star Nikki Garcia.

By Megan Behnke

Longtime Dancing With the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev has been arrested. TMZ reports that the dancer, who has been on the ABC dancing competition since Season 18, was arrested for domestic battery in Napa, California. On Thursday morning, he was booked into Napa County Jail on a felony domestic violence charge, but no other information surrounding the charges, including the events leading up to it, have been released.

The outlet did point out that Chigvintsev's wife and former WWE star Nikki Garcia is in Napa, having previously posted to her Instagram Story revealing she was in wine country as well. It's unclear if she was involved in it, though. The duo just celebrated their second anniversary on Aug. 26, with Garcia sharing a sweet video and message to her husband and former DWTS partner. Chigvintsev also shared a photo from their wedding for the anniversary.

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(Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Chigvintsev and Garcia met on DWTS during Season 25 when they were paired together in 2017, getting engaged just two years later. The following year, they announced they were expecting their first child, and Garcia gave birth to Matteo Artemovich in July 2020. They officially tied the knot in 2022 and seem to still be going strong, as far as the public can see. No details have been given on the situation, and for now, it's only assumptions as to what happened, either between them or Chigvintsev and someone else.

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Meanwhile, the arrest comes just a week before the full cast for Dancing With the Stars Season 33 is expected to be announced on Good Morning America. As of now, Artem Chigvintsev has not been confirmed to return, and it's unknown how this will affect his chances to return. He placed fourth during Season 32 with Bachelorette star Charity Lawson, and it's likely there have been talks about him coming back for Season 33. At this time, nothing has been revealed about what DWTS will look like for him.

The whole situation, for the most part, is pretty dry with details, and it's hard to tell if more information will be released or if Chigvintsev or even Nikki Garcia will come out and tell their tale. It's all just a waiting game right now, and people can only assume what really happened until it's either confirmed or denied. And it can go in a number of directions.

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