Since Dancing with the Stars premiered, fans of the hit reality show have been passionate to know about the families behind the series. On top of that, many fans know other facts, like why Stephen Nedoroscik wears glasses, how Ezra Sosa had a breakout year, and about the show’s music director. DWTS fans also tend to love more dramatic headlines, like the ones about the Menendez brothers potentially joining the show and when Carrie Ann Inaba had to walk back her comments.
Unfortunately for Dancing with the Stars fans, there have been some headlines about the pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev that nobody can enjoy. Since those headlines are so off-putting, many Dancing with the Stars don’t know that Artem claims he lost $100,000 due to “false” allegations.
Artem Chigvintsev Claims His Wife Nikki Garcia’s “False” Allegation Cost Him $100,000
After being a Dancing with the Stars mainstay for many years, a lot of fans had come to care about Artem Chigvintsev. For that reason, it was shocking when it was revealed that Artem had been arrested on a domestic violence charge.
After those headlines about Artem surfaced, fans concluded that he would likely never make a Dancing with the Stars return, as some hoped he might. Since Artem seemingly was no longer welcome on a show that he’d been a big part of for a long time, it seemed like his career could never recover.
Still, most observers have no idea how much a famous figure being canceled costs them financially. However, Artem seemed to give his observers a very good idea of how much money he’d missed out on. According to Artem, the domestic violence allegation he claims is “false” cost him $100,000.
After Artem’s arrest, his wife, Nikki Garcia, filed for divorce. That led to the former couple starting to battle in court over their shared assets and custody of the son they share.
As a part of that legal battle, Artem claimed in court documents that he’d lost $100,000 in income since his arrest, according to a TMZ article.
Not only did Artem claim that he lost a fortune, he also went into detail about some of the work he lost after the allegations.
According to Artem’s legal filing, he says he’d regularly been picking up dancing jobs that involved him performing on Saturdays and Sundays. Furthermore, Artem claimed that those jobs would last as much as 20 weekends for him.
TMZ’s article also revealed that Artem further claimed that because of the allegations, he’d lost another major source of income.
According to Artem’s legal filing, he stopped making money from social media endorsements because of the allegations he labeled lies.
“I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which [Nikki] continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police, than mine.”
As a result of claiming that he was losing so much money, there were headlines about what Artem was trying to get as a part of the former couple’s divorce battle.
In September 2024, People reported that Artem was asking for spousal support as a part of his and Nikki’s divorce.
Artem also asked the court to order Nikki to pay his legal fees related to their divorce.
In September 2024, it was revealed that Artem wouldn’t be facing any charges after he was arrested following the domestic violence incident. As an E! News article revealed, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley released a statement on the decision not to charge Artem.
“The decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation, and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office… While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence. We are required to prove any and every criminal charge ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.”
Nikki Garcia’s Representative Commented On The Allegations Against Artem Chigvintsev
Since news of the domestic violence incident involving Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Garcia broke, he has publicly denied the allegations he faced. On the other hand, Nikki opted not to directly speak out about the incident, at least at first.
Instead of Nikki speaking out on the situation, her representative addressed the incident as an E! News article revealed. In August 2024, Nikki’s representative gave a statement to the press on behalf of their client asking for privacy.
“This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
Nikki’s twin sister Brie Garcia has also revealed how taxing the fallout of the incident has been. During an October 2024 episode of the “Nikki & Brie” podcast, as summarized by a Page Six article, Brie spoke about how much she has been affected by what Nikki has gone through.
“I have felt sadness in ways that maybe death could compare. I literally have lost sleep. I lay in my bed with my eyes open, and I think and I just think and think, and I think of so many different things… But the major thing I think of is: How can I fix [things] and how can I help?”
When Nikki and Brie starred in reality shows like Total Divas and Total Bellas together, it was very clear that they are extremely close. With that in mind, it makes sense that Brie has been so affected by what Nikki has gone through.