‘DWTS’ pro Artem Chigvintsev’s mugshot released after domestic violence arrest
Artem Chigvintsev’s mugshot has been released after his arrest on a felony domestic violence charge.
The “Dancing With the Stars” pro and husband to former WWE diva Nikki Bella was booked by the sheriff’s office in Napa County, California, on Thursday just before 10 a.m. PT.
Chigvintsev was released at 2:18 p.m. PT on Thursday. His bail was set at $25,000, according to booking records seen by The Post.
The incident that led to Chigvintsev’s arrest occurred somewhere in the town of Yountville. The dance pro was arrested at the scene and there were injuries involved, a spokesperson for the Napa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Post.
The identity of the alleged victim is not confirmed at this time. Chigvintsev was charged under a California penal code that “makes it illegal to injure a spouse, cohabitant or fellow parent in an act of domestic violence.”
Chigvintsev and Bella, who goes by Nikki Garcia professionally, had just celebrated their second wedding anniversary on Monday, August 26. They married in a lavish Paris ceremony in 2022.
The couple lives in Napa and Bella posted an Instagram story on Wednesday, August 28, revealing she was in town getting a facial at one of her favorite spots downtown.
Back in 2023, the pair showed off their $1.5 million home to “MTV Cribs.”
News also broke on Thursday that Chigvintsev will not be returning for Season 33 of “DWTS” despite having been among the show’s dance pros last season.
Since joining the US version of the global TV franchise on Season 19, Chigvintsev has only missed seasons 21 and 28.
Before coming to America, the dancer was one of the pros on “Strictly Come Dancing” — the show that kicked off all the other international installments of “Dancing.” However, years-old allegations of verbal and physical abuse made by one of Chigvintsev’s former dancing partners resurfaced in July.
“[Artem] would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me,” English TV presenter and author Fern Britton said in an interview with British newspaper The Times back in 2015.
“He was like, ‘Shut your face. Go home before I kill you,'” she continued.
“I would say, ‘Oh please just kill me, it would be easier,’” Britton continued. “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.”
Chigvintsev pushed back on the allegations at the time, telling the Daily Express, “I believe I treated Fern with respect and genuine care and these claims about me are the opposite of everything I believe in and the person I am.”
The Post has reached out to reps for Chigvintsev and Bella.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
