Nikki Garcia Talks About Reuniting with Ex-Husband Artem Chigvintsev
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Reading Time: 2 minutes
Nikki Garcia and Artem Chigvintsev recently reunited post-divorce to attend their son Matteo’s school graduation. Garcia told a funny story about the event on the podcast she co-hosts alongside her twin sister Brie.
Nikki Garcia Talks Reuniting with Artem Chigvintsev
“I learned last year, you do not show up empty handed to kindergarten graduation, preschool graduation, because other parents have stuff and if you are the one parent without something grand…” Garcia shared on the podcast.
She added that the balloon her sister chose for Matteo’s graduation was twice the 4-year-old’s height. It was much larger than anyone else’s balloon at the event, prompting Garcia to joke, “They’re like, ‘Recently divorced family, there’s like the massive balloon.’”
“I’m taking photos of Artem and Matteo and then I ask Artem if [he] can take photos of me and Matteo,” she recalled. “As we are switching the balloon off, the balloon goes flying in the air and Matteo screams. It gets caught in the tree, at least it’s in the tree.”
Matteo started crying, and Garcia asked Chigvintsev if he could go buy another balloon. Instead, Chigvintsev got a ladder from the school and retrieved the balloon from the tree. However, it later ended up “wrapped around the lights.”
Garcia attempted to jump up and get it, before a “tall dad” helped them get it down. She added, “The balloon made it home and then Matteo forgot about it and didn’t care.”
SEE ALSO: NIKKI GARCIA OPENS UP ABOUT SPENDING VALENTINE’S DAY WITHOUT ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV
The Former Couple Has Joint Custody of Their Son
In August of last year, Chigvintsev was arrested for domestic violence following an alleged incident at the family’s home in Napa Valley, California. Charges against him were later dropped, but Garcia filed for divorce in September.
The couple met as Dancing with the Stars partners and tied the knot in 2022. Garcia initially requested full custody of their son Matteo, but Chigvintsev was granted joint custody as part of the couple’s divorce settlement last fall.
“Nikki and Artem have settled their divorce and will not be going to court,” Garcia’s rep said in a statement at the time. “Both parties decided to drop the domestic violence restraining orders against each other in an effort to move on with their lives and effectively coparent their son.”
