On August 29, Artem Chigvintsev was booked into Napa County Jail on a felony domestic violence charge which involved him inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.
Nikki Garcia (Nikki Bella) was Artem's wife at the time of the incident. The two have filed for divorce and been granted restraining orders against each other. They share a son, Matteo, from their marriage.
Nikki took a step back from the public eye after the alleged incident, but returned to her podcast with her sister Brie Garcia (Brie Bella) and addressed her current status.
She began by thanking everyone for their support and respecting her privacy.
"I needed to disconnect because, first things first, I'm a mom and my son's protection and privacy is the most important. I was going to do whatever it took for that, most importantly. Then, needing space for healing and facing trauma. It's been tough. It's been really tough. I've been heartbroken and sad," she said.
She said that they went from a great love story to a terrible one and she never saw it coming.
"I know, being a public figure, I have to say a little bit about this. After this, I don't want to ever talk about it again because I truly do want privacy for Matteo. That has been the most important part," she said.
Nikki reiterated that protecting Matteo was her first and biggest priority. She said that she was shocked and heartbroken when she was told how things were playing out in the media.
TMZ reported details of the incident, which includes a claim by Nikki that Artem, "had his hands on her chest near her sternum, pressing down -- she says she felt like she was suffocating -- and she says she grabbed at his neck in an attempt to get him off."
Ilona Antonyan, the lawyer for Artem, has denied Nikki's allegations and insists that Artem was not the primary aggressor.
"When you know the truth, nothing else matters. When some of you would come to me and tell me what people were saying or what was out there, it would affect me in some way, but because I know the truth and I actually lived it, it didn't have a big effect on me because people weren't there that day. People don't know what I've gone through, what I am going through. You're always going to have people assume things and say things. When they get fed lies, you're going to have people believe things," she said.
Nikki said that she wanted to handle things with grace and didn't want to "drag" Artem publicly because she wanted to protect Matteo and wants him to have a good father. She did state multiple times that Matteo has two parents who love him.
"When it came to our relationship, it's sad, but things haven't been great for a long time. I really played it up that things were a lot better than what they were, in the public eye, which I have regrets in that because I felt, if I could put this person on a pedestal and maybe if this person hears it enough, what I believe in them, they can believe that in themselves," she said.
Asked by Brie why she did that, Nikki replied, "We were so public and I felt I wasn't being heard at home, so maybe he would hear me out loud in the public eye."
She said that she didn't want to have another failed public relationship and also wanted to fight for her relationship for Matteo.
"In the end, we weren't bringing the best out in each other. We probably should have walked away a long time ago so in the end what happened, would not have happened," she stated.
Nikki said that she hopes to have a civil co-parenting relationship with Artem at some point, for the sake of Matteo, but she is not ready to forgive yet. Nikki says she wants to move on and is over hiding.
Nikki said throughout the podcast that Matteo is her first priority and that she wants to remain strong for him. She admitted that co-parenting sucks, but believes Artem is still meant to be someone great.
She thanked everyone in her life who was there for her to support her.
Victim Resources:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofvps/fv-centers
The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Text START to 88788
