Artem Chigvintsev is coming for Nikki Garcia‘s money!
In new court papers filed in Napa Superior Court on October 31 and obtained by DailyMail.com on Wednesday, the Dancing with the Stars alum claimed he lost $100K due to his domestic violence arrest, and he wants his estranged wife to pay up now!
As Perezcious readers know, Artem was arrested in late August after a domestic incident with his wife. She claimed he was the main aggressor and had “tackled [her] multiple times and pinned [her] to the ground while [their] child was present” amid an argument over breakfast. She successfully retained a temporary restraining order against him, though he was never charged. Meanwhile, Artem insisted she was the violent one and also got his own temporary restraining order amid the divorce and child custody proceedings.
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In her legal papers, Nikki claimed Artem had grown upset after not being selected for DWTS this season and being unable to find dancing work, forcing him to work in construction. Artem’s now clapping back at that, arguing in his new docs:
“It is not true that I have not been able to find other work as a dancer. I normally start jobs in November and it goes for 20 weekends. After the mug shot and the arrest based on her false allegations, I was taken off the website faculty list resulting in loss of over $100k in income.”
He also reportedly suffered income loss on social media, adding:
“I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which she continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police, than mine.”
Because of this, he is requesting that Nikki Bella pay his out-of-pocket expenses because the temporary restraining order was granted without enough supporting facts. This includes paying his rent because he “was kicked out of the home.” He’d also like her to pay some or all of his legal fees. Wow!
He also argued in the papers that the former WWE star has “anger issues,” something she has denied, detailing:
“She is the one with the temper. I try to stay quiet and avoid it. She yells, and on 8/29/24 was yelling, pursuing me, and was the one who attacked me.”
He continued:
“It is further a lie that I was growing increasingly angry, snapping at her, and yelling. I was not violent with her and did not violently grab or yell at her.”
He even claims she lied about the reason they were bickering in the first place. She had claimed they’d talked about his need to control his anger, but things escalated on August 29 when he yelled at her while making their 4-year-old son Matteo‘s breakfast, complaining that she had made him a “picky eater.” According to the Strictly Come Dancing star, they were arguing about how she had booked work in New York when he was supposed to have surgery. Artem wrote:
“We had an argument, but it’s not how she describes it. We agreed months before my surgery that she would be there with Matteo. I was supposed to fly to have my surgery on 5/19/24, she forgot about it and booked herself for work in New York. She then told me that her work was more important than my medical procedure, so she ended up leaving. Our son was left with nanny. I canceled my ticket and stayed behind. She then started sending me texts for different flight I could take, so I ended up going because she insisted I go. I have texts to prove this.”
Oof!
Not him threatening to share the receipts! This legal battle is about to get even messier. In response to the request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, he also alleged:
“She abused me, not the other way around. She threw shoes at me, followed me and tried to break her way into the bedroom.”
He also slammed the Twin Love host’s decision to include their son on her TRO, sharing:
“I cannot trust her anymore. Not only did she lie to the police so that her career remains intact, ruining mine, but she used the court proceeding to keep our son away from me for almost a month, not letting me see him until this Court issued its 50/50 orders on 10/15/2024, which I am very grateful for. Almost a month without Matteo was miserable for me, and I am sure for him as well, and selfish of Wife.”
Last month, a judge declared that they must split custody of Matteo. Nikki had been fighting for full custody while Artem wanted joint custody, so this was a big win for him, and he’s clearly happy about the decision!
According to DM, their temporary restraining orders against each other have been extended until December 6, when they are set to return to court. Thoughts? Let us know (below).
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
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