Artem Chigvintsev Opens Up About ‘DWTS’ Firing and Arrest, Says He Wouldn’t Have ‘Left’ Nikki Garcia

Artem Chigvintsev was willing to “sacrifice” himself in an “unhealthy” marriage — for the sake of his son, he revealed on The Penthouse With Peta podcast on Monday, April 20.

The former Dancing With the Stars pro, 43, shares 5-year-old Matteo with his pro wrestler ex-wife Nikki Garcia, 42.

But Chigvintsev and Garcia — who is also known by her stage name Nikki Bella — went their separate ways when she filed for divorce in September 2024, a month after Chigvintsev was arrested for alleged corporal injury to spouse in August 2024.

Chigvintsev didn’t face any domestic violence charges, and he has maintained his innocence.

“I don’t think I would ever [have] left that relationship,” he told hosts and DWTS alums Peta Murgatroyd, 39, and Sharna Burgess, 40.

“Just because I was raised differently. You [are] raised to work through things and, like, my parents are together,” the Russian native explained. “I want my kid to have a full family. I’m a big believer that my kid needs to have both parents present… Let’s say I go meet somebody, that person will never have that love for my son like his mom does for him… that’s an organic feeling.”

Days after Chigvintsev’s arrest, he was told he had been cut from the ABC competition series.

“I had to completely switch off ‘me’ and be in this [survival] mode,” he said. “There was no way of processing everything. It was like a bad dream.”

He tries to tell himself that “everything happens for a reason,” he said. ” I feel like for me to end up where I needed to end up, that needed to happen.”

Chigvintsev — who previously took part in British reality series Strictly Come Dancing — doesn’t look likely to return to professional dancing anytime soon.

“I don’t know if I can because of my son and what [it] will involve, because I just know myself… you learn a lot of things about yourself because you are put in this uncomfortable situation where you start learning yourself, how you act and how you react,” he explained. “And there’s one thing I’ve learned: I can’t do multiple things at once. I can’t multitask.”

Garcia, who has since moved on with NFL star Cooper DeJean, praised her ex in September for his coparenting skills. “He’s been great,” she said on The Nikki & Brie Show. “We’ve adapted well.”