Reality television has always brought a sense of drama and suspense to its programming that leaves viewers invested. This can be brought about in several ways. Maybe a singer won’t bring the vocal strength they need to win the season of American Idol. Perhaps a couple will break off their engagement and never walk down the aisle on 90 Day Fiancé. There could even be a child whose dreams will be crushed in an episode of Dance Moms.
For fans of Dancing with the Stars, the most recent drama has come off-screen.
Retired WWE star Nikki Garcia met Artem Chigvintsev when the two were paired together on the 25th season of DWTS. While Garcia was engaged to John Cena at the time, the two broke off their engagement the following year.
Garcia and Chigvintsev’s relationship began afterward, with the two becoming engaged in 2019. They welcomed a son, Matteo, in 2020 and married in 2022. However, one particular incident would lead to Chigvintsev’s arrest and the couple’s split.
This also caused a story to resurface regarding Chigvintsev’s alleged treatment of a former dance partner. That former partner spoke out about her time working with Chigvintsev shortly after he began working on DWTS. The alleged incidents are disturbing to read in retrospect and fans have a lot of questions for the DWTS team.
One major question fans have is why Chigvintsev was allowed to remain on the show after those allegations were made public.
Artem Chigvintsev’s Former Dance Partner Accused Him Of Mistreatment Way Back In 2015
In 2012, Fern Britton was one of the stars who joined the cast of Strictly Come Dancing.
The show is the UK’s equivalent of
Dancing with the Stars
. Britton is best known as a presenter on
This Morning
in the UK.
During her time on the show, she was paired with Artem Chigvintsev. While viewers were under the impression the two were enjoying each other’s company, Britton later revealed that was far from the truth.
While speaking at an event hosted by The Times in 2015, Britton accused Chigvintsev of “manhandling” her. She said he was “all teeth and muscles” and was extremely difficult to work with.
“He would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me,” Britton said.
While imitating Chigvintsev’s accent, Britton said that he told her, “You just stand there and don’t move, I dance round you.”
She added, “He was like, ‘Shut your face. Go home before I kill you.’”
Despite the harshness of his remarks, Britton was far from intimidated by Chigvintsev and even clapped back.
“I would say, ‘Oh please just kill me, it would be easier’. Or what was his other one? ‘If you go for a cup of tea now, I will blow off like an atomic bomb.’ I thought, well I won’t correct him on that one.”
While Britton’s allegations are disturbing, she surprisingly said not all of their interactions were this unpleasant.
She said, “We did love each other for a moment or two, but he wasn’t charm personified.”
Chigvintsev would also allegedly knock Britton’s age and skill set, telling her that he was used to dancing with partners “younger and with dance ability.”
Britton said that she jokingly responded, “Well, I think I’m young and when I’m drunk I dance really well.”
Britton said there was no love lost between the two. However, she still said that she didn’t enjoy her time on Strictly Come Dancing.
“I did kind of enjoy it, but it was grim at the same time,” she said. “We would be in hold, and he would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me.”
Britton’s revelations about Chigvintsev seemed to confirm a set of rumors which surfaced during her time on the show. A source told The Sun that Chigvintsev had made comments about Britton’s weight, leading to a falling out between the two.
“Artem made jokey comments that they would have a better chance of winning if she lost some weight. But she didn’t find it funny,” the source said.
“I think he thought it would spur her on,” they continued. “But she’s been fighting with her weight for years, so it wasn’t very helpful.”
Fans Are Wondering Why Artem Remained On ‘DWTS’ After These Allegations Were Made Public
In 2024, Chigvintsev was arrested on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse following an incident with wife Nikki Garcia. He was then booked in the Napa County Jail and given $25,000 bail.
Chigvintsev was released from jail less than an hour later.
TMZ reported that Garcia was named in the 911 call, but not in the documents. Garcia allegedly threw shoes at Chigvintsev during the argument.
Garcia’s rep told People, “This is a private matter and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
After news of this incident broke, gossip blogger Perez Hilton reported on the story. In several videos posted to his YouTube channel, Hilton gave his subscribers updates on the situation.
In one of the videos, Hilton mentioned Britton’s allegations of mistreatment by Chigvintsev and wondered why Dancing with the Stars hired him afterward. Even though Britton’s revelations were made public after he began working on the show, he remained a cast member for the many years that followed.
Fans vented their frustration at Chigvintsev in the comment section:
- “The s.o.b should have been stopped long ago! We forgive abusers too many times. And when Disneys name is mentioned, nothing surprises me!”
- Another user commented, “Hope Nikki and Mateo are safe. A lot of what has been in the dark is now coming into light. 2024 has been an exposing year for the entertainment and music industry.”
- Someone else wrote, “He has no business on DWTS. Just cause he’s a professional dancer doesn’t make him any better.”
Some people even suspected Chigvintsev was bad news long before his arrest:
- “Always seemed aggro to me, carries himself like an egomaniac,” one user wrote. “My heart goes out to Nikki and Matteo.”
- “He looks the type,” someone commented. While another wrote, “I knew he was no good just by watching him on TV.”
- “I’ve always had a bad vibe from him!” another posted.
Following Chigvintsev’s arrest, rumors of a split with Garcia ran into overdrive.
On September 2, Garcia attended Netflix’s Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, a live hot dog eating competition she co-hosted with Rob Riggle. Onlookers noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.
Just days before the incident which led to Chigvintsev’s arrest, the couple posted about their anniversary on Instagram.
“Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out you,” Chigvintsev wrote alongside pictures of their wedding day. “You are my everything.”
Garcia’s post reflected on the pair’s relationship by pointing to lyrics from Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
“This song is our love story,” she captioned a video from their wedding day. “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.”
She continued, “And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be.”
However, their union wouldn’t last. On Wednesday, September 11, Garcia filed for divorce in Napa Valley, California.
Hours earlier, a source informed
People
that Garcia had obtained a divorce lawyer.
While Chigvintsev’s rep didn’t respond to People‘s request for comment, Garcia’s rep stated, “Nikki Garcia has filed for divorce. She continues to ask for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
In the YouTube comments of Hilton’s video, a fan wrote, “This man has been abusive to her before I believe this just didn’t come out of nowhere. This was the straw that broke the camels back and reality came out to be honest. Everything looks nice on the outside, but we really never know what goes on inside and they were got a couple of red flags that I have seen when they were getting married.”
They continued, “My prayers go to Nikki and her family sharing love and we will always have you. I know you’re surrounded by a beautiful family and being protective so right now your son comes first make sure he’s protected. Hopefully he wasn’t there and saw this go down. We love you we’re praying for you and we hope all is well with you.”