Their lives have been turned upside down in the past few weeks, and now Nikki Garcia has been spotted first time since taking out a restraining order against Dancing With The Stars Artem Chigvinstev.
Nikki stepped out looking low-key in a black maxi dress with spaghetti straps. She wore her long brunette hair loose to fall over her shoulders and threw on a pair of sunglasses.
Nikki held their son Matteo in her arms as she headed out. It was the first time she had been seen since Artem Chigvinstev was arrested for alleged domestic violence , and his estranged wife, Nikki, filed for a restraining order against the dancer .
On a recent episode of their Nikki & Brie podcast, Nikki's sister — who wrestled under the name Brie Bella alongside her sister — admitted she’s “lost sleep” in recent days after having to face “trauma.” She explained: “I have felt sadness in ways that maybe death could compare. I literally have lost sleep. I lay in my bed with my eyes open, and I think and I just think and think, and I think of so many different things….But the major thing I think of is: How can I fix [things] and how can I help?”
On Sept. 11, Nikki initially filed a dissolution of marriage with a California court. About two weeks later, she followed up her divorce filing with a request for a request for a domestic violence restraining order. She was granted a temporary restraining order while the court hashed out the potential details on Sept. 30.
Artem then responded with an Oct. 3 request for a restraining order which he was also granted as a temporary measure. Both matters are set to be discussed in an Oct. 21 hearing, according to court records reviewed by The Mirror.
A representative for Nikki told Us Weekly : “Due to the incident that led to Artem’s arrest on August 29, 2024, Nikki has decided to file for a temporary Domestic Violence Restraining Order to protect herself and her son. Although Nikki requested that the Napa District Attorney not file charges against Artem as she did not want him to go to jail, he must still be held accountable for his actions, and Nikki and her son must be protected.
“Nikki’s number one priority has always been the wellbeing of her son. She is thankful for all of the love and support she has received and continues to ask for privacy for her and her family during this difficult time.”
Court documents obtained by TMZ reportedly detailed two separate altercations. She claimed Artem “tackled me multiple times and pinned me to the ground while our child was present," in the court documents.
The Dancing With The Stars alum was arrested in late August over alleged domestic battery. He was booked into jail with a $25,000 bond under a California statute that defines "any person who willfully inflicts upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition" as "guilty of a felony." He was not charged.
Meanwhile former Strictly Come Dancing star Artem Chigvintsev has claimed his wife was "the aggressor" in the recent domestic violence dispute.
The dancer submitted images to the Superior Court of California to try to back up his claim. Among them was a grazed elbow. Another image show a mark behind the dancer's ear, while a third showed a mark on his hand near his knuckle.
It comes a month after his estranged wife, Nikki Garcia, filed to end their two-year marriage, and as the pair both were granted temporary restraining orders against each other.
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