Artem Chigvintsev was granted a restraining order against his estranged wife Nikki Bella (aka Nikki Garcia) on Thursday, the same day he was granted a protective order against her, the Post can reveal.
The competing restraining orders stem from an altercation between the then-couple in August that led to Chigvintsev being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. The former “Dancing with the Stars” pro was ultimately not charged.
In a statement provided to The Post on Chigvintsev’s behalf by his lawyer Ilona Antonyan, Chigvintsev denied Bela’s allegations that he tackled him and insisted that “he was not the primary aggressor.”
“It’s important to consider the motivations of both parties in this situation,” Antonian said.
“Mr. Chigvintsev contacted law enforcement on 8/29/24 seeking protection from his wife’s continued aggression. While he was speaking on the phone with police, Ms. Garcia-Coles gave a candid statement. Said, ‘Do you understand where this is going now, Artem? You ruined my career, and you know it.’
Antonian continued, “That day, someone was going to be arrested, and if Ms. Garcia Coles had told the truth it would not have been Mr. Chigvintsev.”
“(Chigvintsev) refuses to ever deal with him. He was shocked when he learned that she had accused him two weeks after the incident; At that time he understood why he was arrested.
The Dance supporter’s lawyer added, “As a result of the wife’s selfish statements, Mr. Chigvintsev’s career suffered, with many opportunities canceled due to these false allegations. Men can also be victims of domestic violence; Mr. Chigvintsev’s case highlights this reality. “He was not the primary attacker.”
In his complaint obtained by The Post, Chigvintsev, 42, agreed with what Bella said in her petition, that their dispute began with their 4-year-old son, Mateo, fighting over his breakfast, though each told a different version. Have events. In his petition, Chigvintsev says Bella criticized him for not packing and preparing his child’s breakfast and lunch on the morning of August 29 and complained that his son’s muffin was not toasted enough.
According to Chigvintsev, Bella seemed “stressed because of her upcoming job” as host of the Netflix live competitive eating special, “Unfinished Beef”.
“She kept saying that she does everything, and I don’t help, which is absolutely a lie,” Chigvintsev continued, claiming that his wife was shocked when he walked her to the door to drop their son off at school. Kept scolding him.
The fight reportedly escalated during a discussion about his son’s shoes. “(Bella) lost it completely and started screaming ‘Get out of my house, I’m fed up with all this, enough is enough,'” Chingvintsev said in his restraining order request.
Then “he (she) forcefully threw both of Mateo’s sneakers at me,” he said, adding, “He hit me in the chest” but “luckily the shoes didn’t hit Mateo, even though he was right next to me.”
“(M)’s first reaction was obviously to protect Mateo because he was standing next to me,” he recalled.
According to Chigvintsev, Mateo “was very confused and seemed scared” while Bella “kept yelling about wanting a divorce”.
At this point, the “DWTS” vet alleged that he “had to protect” his son and was “begging Bella to please stop it and calm down.”
He added, “I took Mateo in my arms, and tried to defuse the situation and take him upstairs to his room.” But he says that this increased the conflict even further.
Once inside her son’s room, Chigvintsev alleges that the former WWE Diva “tried to force herself to open the door.”
“I couldn’t stop it because she’s so strong. As soon as the door opened, Mateo started crying,” he alleged. “I didn’t want him to see his mother angry and quarrelsome in his bedroom. I wanted to save Mateo from his lack of self-control at this time.
“I pulled myself through the hole in the door and tried to push myself out, while the petitioner continued to physically attack me and tried to get in,” Chigvintsev said.
“I tried to get him off me and away from the door frame so Mateo wouldn’t have to see any further struggle. I can’t stress how many times I begged him to stop and calm down.
“There was a mutual struggle, and both ended up on the ground,” Chigvintsev admitted in his filing at this point.
He alleges he was eventually able to find his phone and call 911 and wait for law enforcement to arrive. He said he was shocked when he was arrested and claims his wife lied to the sheriff.
“I didn’t know what he told the police, but I was surprised that I was arrested,” Chigvintsev said in his filing. “I wasn’t the primary aggressor, she definitely was.”
“Since the incident on 8/29/24, I learned on 9/13/24 that he lied to the police that I tackled him twice, which is absolutely false.”
Chigvintsev also refuted Bella’s claim that “she was holding our son and I grabbed Mateo from her and locked myself in the room.”
“It was a complete lie,” he said. “(B)it doesn’t make sense why I was arrested instead of him.”
In his restraining order request, the dancer also provided photos that allegedly show bruises he sustained as a result of his fight with Bella.
Napa County Department of Corrections
The counterclaims made in Chigvintsev’s restraining order request directly contradict the claims Bella made in her own protective order request filed on Monday.
“(Artem) repeatedly molested me and threw me to the ground while our child was present,” the “Total Divas” star alleged in documents seen in court. tmz,
According to Bella, after learning that she was not asked back for season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars”, Chigvintsev “became more angry, started yelling and screaming at me”. As she tells it, it was the dance professional who became angry at how she toasted their son’s English muffins and blamed her for the 4-year-old being a “loss eater.”
Bella confesses that she threw her son’s shoes at the dancer, causing injury to his foot. She alleges he then grabbed their child and ran upstairs, with the child screaming, “Mommy! Mommy!”
The reality star claimed her husband pinned her to the ground, pushed her down a hall and forced her to her bathroom floor before he allegedly pressed her on her chest near her sternum. Started pouring. Bella said then grabbed Chigvintsev by the neck to pull him away from her.
According to the court order granting Chigvintsev’s restraining order request, the couple must share joint custody of their son for a period of time and “there will be reasonable daily FaceTime contact between the child and the non-custodial parent.”
A judge also ruled that “Either parent shall make negative statements about the other in hearing of the child or ask the child questions about the other parent.”
Both parties are seeking a permanent restraining order against each other and are scheduled to return to court on October 21 for a hearing to consider the requests.
Bela filed for divorce from her husband of two years on September 11 and sought sole legal and physical custody of their son. Chigvintsev responded to the wrestling star’s petition seeking joint custody and spousal support.
The couple had celebrated their wedding anniversary just three days before their physical altercation.
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.
(TagstoTranslate)Celebrities(T)Entertainment(T)Artem Chigvintsev(T)Domestic Violence(T)Nikki Bella
