Artem Chigvintsev is back in the ballroom.
The former Dancing with the Stars pro was spotted in the audience of the show’s 500th episode on Nov. 12 seated next to fellow pros Peta Murgatroyd and her husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy. In a video posted on Murgatroyd’s Instagram Stories and later reposted by Chigvintsev, the three are dancing and clapping to the music as they watch the show.
“🥳,” she wrote over the screen.
Chigvintsev appeared in good spirits, putting up peace signs and laughing with the couple.
Chigvintsev was arrested on Aug. 29 on charges of corporal injury to spouse, presumably wife Nikki Garcia, in Napa Valley. At the time, PEOPLE learned that there were no plans for him to partake in seas on 33 of Dancing with the Stars before the arrest occurred.
The District Attorney’s office decided not to press criminal charges, and on Sept. 11, Garcia filed for divorce.
Chigvintsev has maintained his innocence since the incident, claiming in court documents in response to Garcia’s request for a restraining order, which was obtained by PEOPLE, that he has been out of work because of the headline-making drama. “It is not true that I have not been able to find other work as a dancer,” he wrote in the filing. “I normally start jobs in November and it goes for 20 weekends. After the mug shot and the arrest based on her false allegations, I was taken off the website faculty list resulting in loss of over $100k in income.”
“I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which she continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police, than mine,” he claimed.
In their court battle, Garcia previously claimed that Chigvintsev had been cut from Dancing with the Stars as a pro for the current 33rd season a week before his arrest and “had not been able to find other work as a dancer.”
“He had begun work at a construction job and felt it was beneath him,” an Oct. 3 filing alleged. “Since being cut from Dancing with the Stars, Artem had been growing increasingly angry, snapping at me, and yelling. We had discussions about his need to control his anger.”
Chigvintsev’s recent filing denies Garcia’s allegations.
Garcia and Chigvintsev met in 2017 when they were paired together on season 25 of DWTS. The retired WWE wrestler was engaged to John Cena at the time, but they later ended their relationship in July 2018 and the DWTS pair reconnected thereafter.
After going Instagram official in March 2019, Garcia and Chigvintsev got engaged later that year and welcomed their son in July 2020. They later wed in August 2022 and celebrated their second wedding anniversary just days before Chigvintsev’s arrest.