Nikki Garcia, aka Nikki Bella, is starting the week in the headlines, but it’s not for the reason that you think. The 40-year-old former WWE star co-hosted Netflix’s live Labor Day event, Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, with Rob Riggle in Las Vegas.
Garcia showed up looking relaxed and chicly dressed in a monochromatic outfit considering of form-fitting red pants with a matching vest. “Thank you, everyone, I’m so happy to be here,” she kicked off the show on Sept. 2 while a fan in the audience showed her some appreciation. “I love you, too,” Garcia added. It probably wasn’t easy to make an appearance in the public eye so shortly after her husband, Artem Chigvintsev’s arrest for domestic violence on Aug. 29. in Napa, California.
The Dancing With the Stars pro was charged with felony domestic violence, per the Associated Press, and released on $25,000 bail that same day. On Aug. 30, a representative for Garcia told E! News, “This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time.” That is exactly how the athlete conducted herself on live TV on Monday — she was there to do a job, and her personal life is going to stay out of the spotlight.
Garcia did not wear her wedding ring on the Netflix special, nor was she wearing it when she boarded a private plane from Oakland to Las Vegas on Saturday. (You can see the photos here.) She was accompanied by her four-year-old son, Matteo, whom she shares with Chigvintsev. While the estranged couple’s friends told TMZ that the arrest news was “shocking but not shocking,” it’s clear that the Total Bellas star doesn’t want this matter to play out in the press.
Chigvintsev has reportedly left their Napa Valley home while Garcia and their son reside there. The rest will be left for the courts to decide, but a hearing date has not been announced yet. Chigvintsev was not scheduled to be a part of the fall season of Dancing With the Stars, so his legal issues will not affect the 33rd season on ABC.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of emotional or physical violence, you can get help. To speak with someone who is trained to help with these situations, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233) or chat online at www.thehotline.org/
