Nikki Garcia reflects on painful divorce from DWTS pro Artem Chigvintsev: 'I've been heartbroken'

After settling her divorce with former Dancing With the Stars partner Artem Chigvintsev, Nikki Garcia (the retired wrestler formerly known as Nikki Bella) is ready to share her side of the story. Garcia returned to The Nikki & Brie Show, the podcast she hosts with her twin sister and former wrestling partner Brie Garcia, after a sustained absence to comment on the "heartbreaking" past few months of her life.

Nikki had been absent from the show (and from all social media) following Chigvintsev's arrest on Aug. 29 for suspicion of domestic violence at their California home. Both she and Chigvintsev subsequently claimed that the other was the instigator of the incident, and the Napa County district attorney declined to press charges. Nikki filed for divorce in September, and the divorce was finalized via private mediation on Nov. 20.

"I've been heartbroken," Nikki said on the new episode. "You dream of having this family and this incredible love and it just goes the other way. You go from having a great love story to having a terrible one. I never saw any of it coming, you know, as far as what the ending would be. So it's just been a struggle."

Nikki and Chigvintsev first met on Dancing With the Stars in 2017, when she was a contestant and he was her professional partner. At that time, she was engaged to fellow wrestler John Cena, but they ended their engagement and canceled their planned wedding in 2018. The next year, Nikki and Chigvintsev went public with their relationship. They married in 2022.

Nikki said on the new episode that she wanted to maintain public silence for the sake of Matteo, her young son with Chigvintsev. Brie commended her for not fighting back against smears and rumors, noting “I would have probably done it differently.”

Nikki also said she acted with "love and grace" for the sake of the love she once had for her ex-husband. But, she admitted, their relationship hadn't been at its best for some time.

“When it came to our relationship, it's sad, but it just hasn't been great for a long time," Nikki said. "I really played it up like things were a lot better than what they were in the public eye, which I have regrets in that because what I felt was like, if I can just 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.”

“Do you think that you feel like your fans, your supporters, want to see almost like this fairytale relationship, so you feel like you have to give it to them?" Brie asked.

"That, yes, and I didn't want to have another failed public relationship," Nikki said. "And more than any of that, I wanted it for Matteo...I tried really hard but, in the end, we weren't bringing the best out in each other, and we should have probably walked away a long time ago.”