Nikki Garcia might be trying to process the domestic violence arrest of her estranged husband, Artem Chigvintsev, on Aug. 29, but she’s also moving forward with her life. Those next steps are to prioritize her well-being and that of the couple’s four-year-old son, Matteo.
The first step was ensuring the Dancing With the Stars pro moved out of their Napa, Calif. home. “They are not living under the same roof,” an Us Weekly insider confirmed. TMZ reported that Nikki was making phone calls to divorce attorneys the day after the incident, and the Us Weekly source noted that her “friends believe they will end up splitting” because this is such a “serious” situation.
The 42-year-old dancer called 911 to request medical attention and claimed that his wife had thrown a shoe at him. He tried to call off the EMS request a few minutes later, per the dispatch recording obtained by ET. Per police protocols, they still sent out an officer to check on the situation where Chigvintsev “was arrested without incident” after law enforcement spoke to Garcia, Napa Valley Sheriff PIO Henry Wofford told Us Weekly. Chigvintsev faces arraignment on Nov. 4.
“Nikki, [her sister] Brie, and their family are too strong to let this slide and to let this kind of behavior be OK, especially around a child,” the source noted. Nikki’s twin sister is reportedly “disgusted, shocked, disappointed, and just sad that this happened,” according to the Daily Mail. “She loves Artem, and for this to be going down is so out of the realm of possibility of the person who she knows. Brie is very concerned about it all and is there for her sister at all costs.” The insider believes that Brie would “be the first to tell Nikki to leave him” because she is “obviously the closest to Nikki.”
Via her spokesperson, Nikki asked for “privacy for her and her family at this time” from the media. Still, she did appear on Netflix’s Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef live special on Sept. 2 with co-host Rob Riggle. A second Us Weekly source noted that she put on a “brave face” during the broadcast. “She was extremely friendly and seemed happy as if nothing had just happened between her and Artem,” they shared. Nikki is moving forward with her life and figuring out how Chigvintsev fits into that equation.
Before you go, click here for all the celebrity splits and divorces we never saw coming.
