After news broke about Artem Chigvintsev’s domestic violence charges this week, fans began scrambling for answers. He and his wife Nikki Garcia always seemed so happy and in love, as seen on their social media channels and The Nikki & Brie Show.
However, insiders allegedly report the couple has had a strained relationship for quite some time. Before the couple tied the knot, many fans remember that Nikki admitted they were in counseling.
Artem Chigvintsev & Nikki Garcia Had Issues Long Before Their Wedding
Before their 2022 wedding, Nikki Garcia (then known as Nikki Bella) confirmed she and Artem were in couples counseling. As a professional dancer on Dancing With The Stars, Artem’s career demanded a lot from him. She felt the show took up so much time away from their family and their relationship started to really suffer.
“I would be lying to say, ‘Oh, it’s great.’ It has definitely been a struggle for us,” Nikki shared with Us Weekly back in 2021. At the time, she was parenting their baby son Matteo alone while Artem competed on DWTS. “It’s hard. We have so many ups and downs. It’s been so difficult on our relationship because I need so much from him, but he’s, like, torn between his job that requires so much from him and then us at home.”
In recent years, their relationship seemed to be picture-perfect on social media. However, their relationship wasn’t always so stable. When they competed on DWTS Season 25 together, Nikki admitted that Artem wasn’t easy to get along with.
“I remember during dress rehearsals sometimes I’d be like, ‘Is he mad at me?’” the Total Bellas star revealed in an interview with Kaitlyn Bristowe. “It would just be his tone. It was hard, it was hard on me a lot.”
Kaitlyn echoed similar sentiments, sharing that Artem was often cold to her during Season 29 as well. He and The Bachelorette star went on to win the Mirrorball Trophy during their season.
When Artem was a dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, one of his former partners accused him of being hateful toward her in the rehearsal room.
The Couple Just Celebrated Their Second Wedding Anniversary
News of Artem’s arrest came as a massive shock to the couple’s fans. Just days before, Artem and Nikki happily celebrated their second wedding anniversary together.
On Instagram, Nikki shared clips from their life together and shared lyrics from Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” in the caption.
“Happy Anniversary @theartemc I love you! ❤️🔥” she finished off the post.
“Love you ♥️” Artem replied in the comments.
Reach out for help if you or someone you know is impacted by domestic violence. Contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
Nikole Behrens is a 2017 graduate of Ball State University where she finished with a degree in creative writing and a minor in Japanese. Today she is a professional writer for various companies and really enjoys contributing to TV Shows Ace.