Nikki Garcia has finally opened up about her split from Artem Chigvintsev, three months after their marital issues first came to light.
The WWE alum, 41, filed for divorce from Artem, 42, in September, shortly after an alleged altercation between them led to his arrest for domestic violence. They share four-year-old son Matteo together.
On the podcast, Garcia admitted she had been depicting their relationship to be the perfect marriage on social media despite that not being so, and that they had been plagued with issues ‘for a long time’ prior to the dispute that sparked their split.
‘The past few months, I disconnected from social media, from the world, and I just knew that I needed to disconnect because first things first, I’m a mom and my son’s protection and privacy is the most important,’ she said on the podcast she hosts with twin sister Bella, The Nikki & Brie Show, as she returned to the show for the first time in over three months.
‘I was going to do whatever it took for that most importantly, and then just needing space for healing, for facing trauma head-on.’
‘It’s been tough. It’s been really tough. I’ve been heartbroken. Sad,’ she said.
A ‘heartbroken’ Nikki Garcia has finally opened up about her split from Artem Chigvintsev, months after their issues first erupted
‘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.’
‘I never saw any of it coming, as far as what the ending would be. It’s been a struggle,’ she continued.
‘I know being a public figure, I have to say a little bit about this, right?’ she said, adding she ‘never’ wanted to speak about the drama again to protect her son’s privacy.
‘That has been the most important part,’ she said of her son’s privacy. ‘But obviously I’ve had public relationship, I’m a public figure, so I have to talk about what’s going on, right? A little bit.
‘But I do want to continue to protect Matteo in those ways because that’s what’s been the hardest part about all this and that’s been so heartbreaking.’
Garcia had no idea just how much distress she could endure: ‘I didn’t know your heart could break that many times in such a short period of time,’ she said.
Garcia was so devoted to Chigvintsev she would have ‘taken a bullet’ for him.
But ultimately she felt ‘betrayed’ by the person she would have ‘done anything’ for.
‘If any woman’s been in my situation, which a ton of woman have, right? If any are listening even right now, when you love someone so deeply, which, I walked down the aisle and said ‘I do’ because I loved this person so deeply, I would’ve done anything for them.
Garcia was so devoted to Chigvintsev she would have ‘taken a bullet’ for him
‘I wanted to give the world to my last breath and I would’ve taken a bullet for them. And when something like this happens and you feel betrayed, you’re just trying to figure it out.
‘The whole day was just shocking. I handled things with a lot of love and grace because I loved this person so much. I still wanted great things for them, I wanted them to heal, I wanted them to get help, I wanted them to be the best version of themselves because also that’s what my son deserves.’
Garcia wanted to avoid speaking ill of Chigvintsev for the sake of their son.
‘I don’t want to drag my son’s dad because I want my son to have the greatest dad ever because that’s what Matteo deserves. So I tried to handle this whole situation even though I was in so much pain, I was just trying to do what was best for everyone, but that would get turned against me. “Oh she’s fine,” “oh this,” or “oh that”.
And she admitted things had not been going well in their relationship ‘for a long time’ and that she had been portraying their marriage as one that was perfect despite it not being so.
She also felt pressure to showcase a perfect union after undergoing a previous public split
‘When it came to our relationship, it’s sad, it just hasn’t been great for a long time,’ she admitted.
‘And I really played it up for a long time like things were a lot better than they what they were in the public eye, which I have regrets in that, because what I felt was like, if I can just put this person on a pedestal, and maybe if this person hears it enough what I believe in them, they can believe that in themselves.’
Garcia believed her public praise may have been more effective at reaching Chigvintsev as she did not feel ‘heard’ at home.’
‘I think we were just public and I felt I wasn’t being heard at home, so maybe… he would hear me out loud in the public eye?’ she wondered.
Garcia wanted to avoid speaking ill of Chigvintsev for the sake of their son Matteo
She also felt pressure to showcase a perfect union after undergoing a previous public split.
‘That yes, and I didn’t want another failed public relationship,’ she said, seemingly referencing her ex John Cena.
‘And more than that, take it away, I wanted it for Matteo,’ she explained. ‘It always comes back to him.’
‘You fight for your kids, you want to stick together, because that’s what the kids want, right? I tried really hard, and we both just in the end, we weren’t bringing the best out in each other and we should’ve probably walked away a long time ago so in the end what happened, wouldn’t have happened,’ she said.
Nikki, pictured in 2021, admitted things had not been going well in their relationship ‘for a long time’
Chigvintsev was arrested and booked on a felony domestic violence on August 29 in Yountville, California following an alleged incident with Garcia, but prosecutors in Napa County ultimately decided against filing criminal charges in the case.
Chigvintsev’s lawyer has since claimed the DWTS alum was not the ‘primary aggressor’ in the dispute with Garcia and released photos of the injuries the dancer’s then-spouse allegedly inflicted on him.
The altercation occurred just three days after the former couple celebrated their two year wedding anniversary.
Garcia later filed for divorce and unsuccessfully requested sole custody of their son Matteo, with the pair granted temporary restraining orders against each other. The restraining orders were ultimately dismissed and their divorce has since been finalized.
