Artem Chigvintsev is holding out hope for his future dynamic with his ex-wife Nikki Garcia.
As Perezcious readers know, the couple dramatically split last year after the professional dancer was arrested for domestic violence (though charges were ultimately dropped). Things quickly grew nasty as they both filed restraining orders against each other and the WWE star requested full custody of their 4-year-old child Matteo. Despite the fighting, they settled the divorce just months later and Artem won joint custody.
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In part two of his interview on the Glamorous Grind podcast out on Tuesday, the Dancing with the Stars pro opened up about adjusting to this new family dynamic. And despite ALL the drama, he still thinks he and his ex can be friends one day! Artem expressed:
“[Coparenting] is definitely doable. Obviously, both parties put the best foot forward [to] accommodate the kid. [At] the end of the day, what’s best for Matteo is best for me, right?”
He continued:
“It’s tough sometimes because you have to negotiate certain things, you have to be willing to sacrifice certain things, but at the same time, if you take your own ego out of it, you really have to think of what is best for him, not necessarily what you think would be best for him.”
The Strictly Come Dancing alum furthered:
“I think that’s the fine line, because we all base decision[s] like — right now speaking of myself personally — base decision like what do I think is best for him, by purely thinking like how I would want it, right? But you have to kind of, like, take yourself out of that and think [of] what actually he needs.”
This is not an easy thing to do — but it can go such a long way in helping a child adjust to this new normal and avoid unnecessary drama!
When asked what his future with Nikki Bella holds, Artem said, “Never say never.” That said, he acknowledged there’s work to do before they’ll be friends again, pointing out:
“But there definitely needs to be certain conversations and certain things, acknowledgment of certain things. Yeah, I believe everybody can end up being friends.”
Whoa! Really?? Even after how things ended? The TV performer really does think so, elaborating:
“When I say hearing each other, it’s not just like, ‘Oh, I heard you.’ Truly hearing and trying to understand why that is that, and actually try to feel like, ‘Oh, that’s OK.’ […] I think the hard part, because we live in such a different culture, everybody grew up different, everybody raised different, everybody has different values, and I think that separates us in a lot of ways. And we forgot to kind of, I don’t know, understand each other.”
It’s definitely going to take time for a friendship to form after everything that went down, especially those domestic violence claims! That’s not something to be forgiven lightly. But we suppose this is a good goal — it would be much easier for Matteo for his parents to get along.
While Artem is keeping a positive outlook on the future, he still struggles with the “unknown,” he candidly shared:
“I’m happy that I have my son, I’m happy that my mom is here, I’m happy that I’d be able to see that relationship. I’m happy that I’m still OK, I’m happy about that. But am I happy overall and, like, looking forward? No, because it’s just a whole bunch of unknown and unknown does not make you happy.”
Interestingly, The Total Bellas star suggested last month in an interview with Us Weekly that she’d be willing to make amends with her ex for Matteo. She noted that they spent Christmas as a family to keep things normal for their son — this just weeks after settling the divorce. That says a lot! Our fingers are crossed they can figure out a healthy dynamic moving forward.
Hear more from Artem (below):
Thoughts? Share ’em (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/.
[Image via Nikki Garcia/Instagram & MEGA/WENN & Glamorous Grind/YouTube]
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