Nikki Garcia has reportedly filed for divorce from Artem Chigvintsev weeks after the former Dancing with the Stars professional was arrested on a domestic violence charge.
Nikki, known professionally during her WWE career as Nikki Bella, filed on Wednesday September 11, according to the New York Post. The mother-of-one hired divorce lawyer Evan Craig Itzkowitz and has been pictured in recent weeks without her wedding ring.
© David BeckerArtem was booked into Napa County Jail in California on a felony domestic violence charge on the morning of Thursday August 29. The local sheriff's office confirmed that a domestic violence call at a location in the town of Yountville was made, and that injuries were involved.
Last week, it was reported that the case is still active and it had been turned over to the District Attorney, with formal charges potentially coming soon after a full review.
© Anna WebberNapa County D.A. Spokesperson Carlos Villatoro told TMZ that "the D.A.'s office still needs to review witness statements, footage from the incident, photos that may have been taken or anything else the police found during their investigation".
Artem, who was also a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK, and Nikki lived in the Napa Valley area, with their son Mateo, and they had only celebrated their second wedding anniversary three days prior.
Taking to Instagram on the day, Nikki had penned a gushing post to the soundtrack of "Can't Help Falling in Love", writing that "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 told fans.
The post is still available on her social media.
