Cheryl Burke reacted to her former Dancing With The Stars colleague Artem Chigvintsev recent domestic violence arrest.
Artem, 42, was jailed Thursday on felony domestic violence charges after a reported bust-up at the $1.5million California home he shares with wife Nikki Garcia.
He was released on $25,000 bail just hours later and Nikki has since left the state with their four-year-old son Matteo, as per photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com on Saturday.
During the new episode of her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, pro dancer Burke said she’d been left ‘in complete shock’ over Artem’s arrest.
‘I hesitate to smile right now because of the current news,’ said Burke, who has considered the Russian-born star a good friend for years.
‘It’s just really hard for me because he was — he’s my family,’ she continued. ‘I don’t know what to say here other than I hope everybody’s okay.’
Cheryl Burke reacted to her former Dancing With The Stars colleague Artem Chigvintsev recent domestic violence arrest
Burke’s connection to Chigvintsev predates their DWTS fame, with the star revealing that they’d literally ‘grown up’ together.
‘We used to live together in my family’s home in the Bay Area,’ Burke said. ‘It’s so shocking. I get kind of emotional.
‘My heart goes out to everyone involved,’ Burke concluded.
Chigvintsev was taken into custody Thursday at 10am PST in Yountville, the Napa County town where the couple have been living the last few years, on charges of corporal injury to spouse, TMZ reported
Later that same day, Artem was booked into the Napa County Jail on felony domestic violence charges at 10:59am PST before being released on bond.
A mugshot released by the Napa County Sheriff’s office showed the dancer looking stoic in a green-patterned plaid shirt.
DailyMail.com has been told he was driven away from the jail in a black Ford F-150 pick-up truck and has not returned to the family home.
Radio dispatch obtained by the outlet confirmed the report that the DWTS pro called 9-1-1 to request medical assistance, claiming his wife threw shoes at him.
But then he followed-up by calling off the emergency medical request. But still, when police arrived the home an hour later, they arrested Chigvintsev.
Nikki broke her silence on the incident in a statement asking for privacy.
‘This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time,’ said the WWE star’s rep on Friday.
On Saturday, Nikki and son Matteo were seen boarding a JSX flight to Sin City at Oakland airport, as per DailyMail.com’s exclusive photos.
Artem, 42, was jailed Thursday on felony domestic violence charges after a reported bust-up at the Napa Valley, California home he shares with wife Nikki Garcia
During the new episode of her Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, pro dancer Burke said she’d been left ‘in complete shock’ over Artem’s arrest
‘It’s just really hard for me because he was — he’s my family,’ she continued. ‘I don’t know what to say here other than I hope everybody’s okay’
Nikki, who was wearing a brown low-cut top and baggy jeans for the trip, is due to host a hotdog eating contest between Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi at the Luxor casino on Sunday, which will be screened on Netflix.
She was not wearing her wedding ring at the time of boarding.
The arrest of the Russian-born star, who specializes in Latin dancing, came just a couple of days after they celebrated their second wedding anniversary, which they both recognized on their respective Instagram pages.
Bella shared a video montage documenting their relationship through the years, captioning it with lyrics to Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love.
She gushed about their ‘love story’ and recalled ‘falling in love’ with Artem.
‘This song is our love story. I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem,’ she wrote.
‘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.
‘Happy Anniversary @theartemc I love you!’ concluded Garcia, who included photos from their wedding day.
Artem and Nikki met when they were paired up on Dancing With The Stars in 2017
Just days before his Thursday arrest, Artem professed his ‘love’ for Niki on Instagram in honor of their second wedding anniversary
As for Chigvintsev, he gushed over his lady, writing, ‘Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out (sic) you. You are my everything.’
The couple first met as partners on DWTS in 2017, but Bella happened to be engaged to actor and pro wrestler John Cena at the time.
But the pair called off their engagement the following year and Nikki eventually began dating Chigvintsev.
They welcomed their first child together, son Matteo, on July 31, 2020.
He was born just 22 hours before her twin sister Brie Bella (born Brianna Monique Garcia-Colace) delivered her son Buddy, which is her second child with husband Daniel Bryan.
Along with being WWE icons, Nikki and her twin sister are best known for their E! reality show Total Bellas.
