Nikki Garcia Requests Full Custody of Her Son in Divorce From Artem Chigvintsev

Content warning: This article mentions allegations of domestic violence and physical abuse.

Nikki Garcia is requesting full custody of her 4-year-old son with Artem Chigvintsev.

The former WWE star filed for divorce from the Dancing With the Stars pro on Wednesday, Sept. 11, citing "irreconcilable differences.” She asks for legal and physical custody of their son, Matteo, the couple’s only child.

If the divorce petition documents are approved, this would only allow Artem child visitation rights.

The 42-year-old also asks that the court terminate spousal support for both parties in the divorce.

Nikki filing for divorce and requesting full custody of their son comes two weeks after Artem was arrested for domestic violence. He was arrested on Aug. 29 in Napa, Calif. on accusations of corporal injury to his spouse.

The Dancing with the Stars pro was booked and released on the same day after paying the $25,000 bail.

While it hasn’t been confirmed that Nikki was the victim, audio from the police dispatch phone call did reveal that Nikki was present during the incident.

“Initially, [the call] came in as requesting medical, but now he is stating he got into an argument with his wife and his wife threw shoes at RP [reporting party],” the dispatcher said.

They also revealed that the couple’s son, Matteo, was present. “There is a child on scene. Medical en route. … There’s an active 415 [disturbing the peace] in the background responsible,” the dispatcher can be heard saying.

Since the arrest, Nikki has moved out of their home and stopped wearing her engagement ring and wedding band.

The couple met in 2017 after being paired to compete on Season 25 of Dancing With the Stars. Their relationship started soon after Nikki ended her engagement to John Cena.

Nikki didn’t go public with their relationship until an episode of Total Bellas in 2019. They went Instagram official the next day.

The pair got engaged in November 2019, welcomed Matteo in July 2020, and married in August 2022.

Just days before Artem’s arrest, Nikki had shared clips to celebrate her and Artem’s anniversary on Aug. 27.

“This song is our love story. I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem. Having a conversation with He & God,” she shared in the post.

“How my feelings felt too soon. It all felt too fast. And then this song came on. And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be. Happy Anniversary @theartemc I love you!" she concluded.

Artem shared his own post, writing, “Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything.”