Nikki Garcia seeking custody of son
Nikki Garcia has requested full custody of her four-year-old son Matteo in her divorce filing.
Nikki Garcia is seeking full custody of her son.
The former WWE star filed for divorce from Artem Chigvintsev on Wednesday (11.09.24), and in her petition, she cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split and requested full legal and physical custody of four-year-old Matteo.
However, according to documents obtained by People magazine, Nikki requested the 'Dancing With the Stars' professional be allowed visitation rights to the little boy.
She also requested the court terminate spousal support for both parties.
The 40-year-old wrestler listed the couple's date of separation as 29 August, the day Artem was arrested on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse in Napa Valley, California.
Although the couple got married in Paris in August 2022, the date they were legally wed was listed on the documents as 19 January, 2023.
Artem has yet to comment on the divorce news, while a spokesperson for Nikki said: “She continues to ask for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
Artem was arrested by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant two weeks ago.
Audio of a 911 call obtained by TMZ featured a dispatcher saying the 42-year-old dancer had alleged his spouse had thrown her shoes at him.
The clip featured the dispatcher saying Artem's call "initially came in as requesting medical, but now he is stating he got into an argument with his wife and his wife threw shoes at RP [reporting party].
"There is a child on scene. Medical en route.
"There's an active 415 [disturbing the peace] in the background responsible."
But the dancer then stated he no longer needed medical assistance, with the dispatcher confirming: "RP is stating no medical is needed now."
Artem was booked on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse and released later in the day on $25,000 bond.
The pair met on 'Dancing With the Stars' in 2017 but didn't start dating until the following year, after the retired wrestler had split from John Cena.
They got engaged in January 2020 and married in Paris in August 2022.
