Artem Chigvintsev is all smiles with 4-year-old son Matteo in his first Instagram post since Nikki Garcia split.
Chigvintsev, 42, shared four black-and-white photos with his son on Sunday, December 22. In the snaps, the father-son duo are laying down, with two images showing them both laughing with their mouths wide open. Matteo is hugging Chigvintsev, squishing their faces together, in a third image.
The former Dancing With the Stars pro shares Matteo with ex-wife Garcia, 41.
Chigvintsev and Garcia started dating in 2019, two years after they competed together during DWTS season 25. The former couple welcomed Matteo in 2020 and got married in 2022.
Related: Nikki Garcia Claims Artem Grew ‘Increasingly Angry’ After ‘DWTS’ Cut
Nikki Garcia shared new details about her and estranged husband Artem Chigvintsev’s domestic violence incident in a restraining order filing. In the document, which was filed and granted by a judge on Monday, September 30, Garcia, 40, claimed that Chigvintsev, 42, tackled her multiple times and shoved her to the ground while their son, Matteo, […]
This past August, shortly after Chigvintsev and Garcia celebrated their second wedding anniversary, the professional dancer was arrested for domestic battery and booked on a felony domestic violence charge after an apparent altercation with his then-wife. (The charges against him were dropped in September following a “thorough” investigation, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley shared at the time.)
Both Chigvintsev and Garcia subsequently filed for divorce following the incident with the former WWE Diva asking for full custody of Matteo and Chigvintsev requesting joint custody. They both filed for restraining orders against each other, which have since been dropped.
Us Weekly confirmed in November that their divorce had been settled.
“Nikki and Artem have settled their divorce and will not be going to court,” Garcia’s rep shared in a statement. “Both parties decided to drop the domestic violence restraining orders against each other in an effort to move on with their lives and effectively coparent their son.”
Garcia broke her silence on the divorce in a December episode of her podcast, “The Nikki & Brie Show,” which she hosts alongside twin sister Brie Garcia.
“I’ve been heartbroken,” Garcia told listeners. “You dream of having this family and you have this incredible love, and it just goes the other way. You go from having a great love story to having a terrible one.”
Related: Artem Chigvintsev’s Lawyer Claims He Wasn’t Domestic Violence ‘Aggressor’
Artem Chigvintsev’s lawyer is claiming that he was not the “primary aggressor” in his recent domestic violence incident. “We can now focus on negotiating a shared 50/50 custody schedule. Fortunately, Artem has been able to spend time with Matteo almost every day since 8/29/2024 incident,” Chigvintsev’s attorney Ilona Antonyan said in a statement to Us […]
Garcia further explained her silence, noting that she wanted to “disconnect” to put Matteo’s needs first.
“I’m a mom and my son’s protection and privacy is the most important,” she said. “I was going to do whatever it took for that most importantly, and then just needing space for healing, for facing trauma head-on.”
She said dealing with the divorce was “a struggle” over the past few months.
“I know being a public figure, I have to say a little bit about this, right?” Garcia noted. “After this, I don’t want to ever talk about [it] again, because I truly do want privacy for Matteo. That has been the most important part.”
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