Former Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev is desperately trying to salvage his marriage with Nikki Garcia following his arrest for domestic battery – but she believes ‘divorce is the only option.’
The 42-year-old professional dancer, who has been released on bail following his arrest in Napa County, California for domestic violence, is said to be hellbent on proving to wife Nikki, 40, that he ‘can be a changed man.’
While she has allegedly banned Artem from seeing their four-year-old son Matteo without supervision and is searching for a divorce lawyer, sources have revealed to DailyMail.com that he is in the ‘fight of his life’ to win her back – especially now that he has been dropped from the upcoming season of DWTS.
‘Artem is very frustrated and mad that he wasn’t asked to be on this season of Dancing with the Stars, and now it looks like he will never be back,’ they said.
‘His life professionally and personally is and has been flipped upside down.
Dancing with the Stars ‘ Artem Chigvintsev is desperately trying to salvage his marriage with Nikki Garcia
The 42-year-old professional dancer was released on bail after being booked into Napa County Jail on a felony domestic violence charge last week
‘He doesn’t know what his next steps are with Nikki, he has been upset for a long time and now he is in the fight of his life to clear his name and win back Nikki, but as of right now he hasn’t decided what he might do to show her that he can be a changed man.
‘They currently have limited dialogue with each other.
‘If and when he sees Matteo, Nikki wants it supervised. Her trust has been thrown out the door and she is very angry with Artem, he has an uphill battle ahead of him.The whole thing is a mess.
‘She has tried and tried to make it work, but she feels divorce is the only option. It hurts but Nikki is such a strong woman, and she is doing what is right for her, and for Matteo.’
Although Artem is desperately trying to repair his marriage, Nikki’s twin Brie Garcia is said to want her sister to leave him for good.
Earlier this week, an insider close to former WWE star Brie, 40, said she is ‘disgusted’ by the news of Artem’s arrest, and wants her twin to have nothing to do with him.
‘Nikki’s sister Brie is disgusted, shocked, disappointed and just sad that this happened,’ they told DailyMail.com.
Artem is said to be in the ‘fight of his life’ to win back his wife of two years, Nikki, 40
Insiders told DailyMail.com that Artem has to be supervised ‘if and when’ he wants to see his young son Matteo, four
‘She loves Artem, and for this to be going down is so out of the realm of possibility of the person who she knows. Brie is very concerned about it all and is there for her sister at all costs.’
The added: ‘Brie, who is obviously the closest to Nikki, as anyone would, is telling her to leave Artem, if this is as bad as it seems, and if it happened before, once she finds out everything that happened, she will be the first to tell Nikki to leave him.’
Nikki and Artem’s two-year marriage was reportedly plagued by arguments, but his violent outburst has shocked the WWE star and her family.
‘One thing Nikki never showed was the verbal troubles that she had with Artem,’ the source continued. ‘They wouldn’t treat each other very nice and they never built on a friendship.
‘Their sole focus has been on their son and not on each other. That caused arguments, but as far as everyone knows it never got physical.
Nikki’s twin Brie Garcia (pictured) is said to want her sister to leave Artem for good
The professional dancer was arrested just days after he and Nikki celebrated their second wedding anniversary
‘Family and friends are very surprised things got physical, but they’re not exactly surprised that they were having trouble, it just seemed like normal relationship issues to outsiders.’
Over the weekend, Nikki was seen boarding a JSX flight to Sin City at Oakland airport without her wedding ring. She was accompanied by her son and an assistant.
On Tuesday, TMZ claimed that Nikki began the hunt for an attorney the day after Artem had allegedly attacked her.
The publication alleged that she has been making calls since Friday and has the intention of ending her marriage.
Artem and Nikki initially crossed paths in 2017 when they were paired up on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars.
Artem had previously been in high-profile relationships with other celebrities, including dancer Giselle Peacock, 43, between 2004 and 2005. He also dated DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba, 56, between 2006 and 2008.