DANCING With The Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev announced that he’s taking a break from the show’s tour due to “some unexpected health issues”.
The 39-year-old dancer, who joined the reality competition series in 2014, revealed the news in an Instagram post yesterday.
The Russian native penned: “My time on tour so far has been wonderful – unfortunately I am having to step away from tour for a while, due to some unexpected health issues.
“My goal is to recover as quickly as possible so I can rejoin my cast and crew on this incredible tour.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding. See you soon, Artem.”
In light of his post, the TV star was inundated with messages of support in the comments, including one from his fiancée Nikki Bella, who left a red heart emoji.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a rep said: “DWTS: Live! Tour is continuing as planned with our cast of amazing pros.
“We wish Artem a speedy recovery and look forward to having him back in the show in the very near future.”
Artem kicked off the DWTS tour on January 7 in Richmond, Virginia alongside his fellow pros Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Sasha Farber, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Britt Stewart and Sofia Ghavami.
The dancer was paired with former partner Kaitlyn Bristowe, who he won season 29 of DWTS with, for the first several dates. It is not known who the star will perform with in light of Artem’s absence.
The tour takes the DWTS troupe all over the US until March 27, with their last performance being at the Gallo Center For The Arts in Modesto, California.
Elsewhere, Artem’s other half and WWE Hall of Famer Nikki admitted that there is zero chance of her making an in-ring return.
The wrestler was forced to retire in 2019 due to health reasons but she has been desperate for one last run in Vince McMahon‘s promotion.
However, the two-time women’s champion has confirmed that doctors have put her ‘on the retired bench for life’ after suffering a herniated disc and a brain cyst as a result of her 12-year wrestling career.
The ex-Divas Champion has been wanting to go after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships with her twin sister Brie, who has also retired from professional wrestling.
However, the 37-year-old is accepting the situation and is concentrating on motherhood after giving birth to son Matteo with fiancé Artem in 2020.
The reality star has also turned her attention to other passions and business projects, such as winemaking.
Nikki said during an edition of Sippin’ the Tea show in October, which she attended with Brie: “I would love one day, like when Matteo’s maybe three, and he knows it, to have my son be ringside while his mom kicks ass.
“That would be amazing to me. But because he is my everything, I have to listen to the doctors and as of now, they’ve put me on the retired bench for life.
“So, it would take a lot of scans, x-rays, and all this different stuff for them to actually approve me to have a run and so that would be unlikely – that will be years down the road.
“I love waking up when the sun comes behind the mountains and it shoots on the vineyards and I just stare at it every morning, because Matteo has me up at 5am, and [seeing] how the sun sets.
“I know I’m where my soul is meant to be. The wine industry, winemaking, and anything with wine, I’m like happy. It’s my happy place.”
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