Artem Chigvintsev gushed about his love for his wife Nikki Garcia in a post celebrating their second wedding anniversary just days before his arrest on a domestic violence charge.
The Dancing with the Stars professional was released on $25,000 bond Thursday, August 29, after his early morning arrest in Yountville, California.
On August 26, Chigvintsev, 42, shared a couple of photos from his and Garcia’s wedding writing, ‘Happy anniversary my love , can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything.’
Garcia commented on the post writing, ‘Happy Anniversary Click. Love you so much!’
The former WWE star, 40, shared video and photos from their wedding in Paris with Haley Reinhart’s Can’t Help Falling in Love playing beneath it.
Artem Chigvintsev, 42, gushed about his love for his wife Nikki Garcia, 42, in a post celebrating their anniversary just days before his arrest on a domestic violence charge. ‘Happy anniversary my love , can’t see my life with out you You are my everything ❤️’
She shared the lyrics to the song, adding, ‘This song is our love story. I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem. Having a conversation with He & God. How my feelings felt too soon. It all felt too fast. And then this song came on. And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be. ✨’ she sad.
‘Happy Anniversary @theartemcI love you! ❤️’
Due to laws protecting the identity of domestic violence victims, officials at the Napa County Sheriff’s Office have not released the name, gender or age of the alleged victim, but records obtained by People indicated he was charged with corporal injury to spouse.
However, deputies said there was sufficient evidence to make an arrest.
‘When it comes to felony domestic violence, it’s not based on hearsay,’ Napa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Henry Wofford told Dailymail.com Thursday. ‘The deputies saw something that is apparent.’
Wofford explained, ‘I’m not telling you this is what happened in this particular case, but sometimes there would be evidence of blood, sometimes scratches, sometimes it’s bruises – it’s something visible where the deputies said, “OK, we’re making this arrest.”‘
Deputies spoke to Chigvintsev and arrested him for felony domestic violence, Wofford told Dailymail.com Thursday, adding that the dance pro ‘was cooperative’ and ‘did not fight with our deputies or anything of that nature.’
Chigvintsev and Garcia first met when they were paired up for DWTS season 25 in 2017.
Garcia also celebrated the day, posting video and photos from their 2022 wedding and sharing the lyrics from the Haley Reinhardt version of Can’t Help Falling in Love. ‘This song is our love story,’ she wrote
The Dancing with the Stars alum was arrested on domestic violence charges in the early hours of Thursday, August 29. He has since been released on $25,000 bond
After Garcia, who used to go by her stage name Nikki Bella, broke up with former fiance John Cena in 2018, the dancing partners reconnected and went public with their relationship in 2019.
They welcomed their son, Matteo, in 2020, and tied the knot in 2022.
In an appearance on the Tamron Hall Show in November 2020, Garcia revealed she and Chigvintsev had gone to counseling, per People.
‘Artem and I, from the beginning, want to know: How do we balance this for Matteo and for our relationship?’
In November 2021 on The Bellas Podcast with her sister Brie, now the Nikki and Brie Show, Garcia shared some more information, saying she and her husband were in a ‘good spot’ after going through a ‘rocky period.’
At the time, the couple had gone through weeks of separation due to professional obligations on DWTS and Garcia’s work as a judge on America’s Got Talent: Extreme.
‘[We] had to get back into therapy. You know, distance is really hard,’ she explained.
‘Teo goes everywhere with mama,’ she said. ‘That’s where he’s comfortable, that’s where he does best. And, you know, it’s been hard on [Artem], and it’s been hard on me too not to have my man in my bed for over six, seven weeks.’
Since news of the arrest, fans have reached out to Garcia in support.
‘I pray he didn’t lay his hands on you. Please know your worth and walk away if he did,’ advised one follower.
‘Never trust the endless bliss of social media posts. Hope you’re safe, take care of yourself Nikki,’ wrote another.
The couple met on season 25 of Dancing with the Stars in 2017
The pair reconnected after Garcia broke off her engagement to fellow WWE star John Cena. They welcomed their son Matteo in 2020 (Pictured in Los Angeles in December 2019)
Chigvintsev will not be a part of season 33 of DWTS. That decision was reportedly made before his arrest
Some of the shine has been taken off of Chigvintsev’s star. ‘Was a big Artem fan until now 🙁 learn to argue without putting your hands on someone especially ur wife!!!! Yuck!’ wrote a former admirer.
‘From this (referring to the wedding picture) to being arrested for domestic violence today…heavens that took a drastic turn ugh. I hope this was all a misunderstanding whoever was involved.’
‘It’s always the happiest couples on social media who have the most real life problems…. Yet people really take social media seriously,’ contended another.
Chigvintsev will not be part of DWTS season 33, but according to People, that decision was made prior to his arrest.
