Russian dancer Artem Chigvintsev felt on top of the world when he won the Mirrorball trophy in “Dancing With the Stars” season 29. He continued for a few more seasons, hoping to recapture the thrill of victory.
But after reaching the finale with Charity Lawson in season 32, his entire world fell apart.
Weeks before season 33, Artem Chigvintsev and his then-wife, Nikki Bella, went through an explosive split, which resulted in his arrest. Now, he’s sharing his point of view on the aftermath.
Artem Chigvintsev Felt Like He Couldn’t Wake Up From a Nightmare
Dancer Artem Chigvintsev and professional wrestler Nikki Bella met during their partnership on “Dancing With the Stars” season 25. They went on to date after her split from John Cena and welcomed a son together in 2020.
They married in 2022, expecting to spend the rest of their lives together. However, no one saw their explosive break-up in the summer of 2024 coming.
Recently, Artem sat down with Peta Murgatroyd and Sharna Burgess on “The Penthouse with Peta” podcast to discuss the turmoil and how he reinvented himself in the aftermath.
“Talk to me about this reinvention of you after major life changes,” Sharna begins in the clip. “Because all of a sudden, your personal life is exploding, and that also led to you not being on ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ It was all in the same six months right?”
Artem corrects his friend and adds that everything actually happened in the same week, not six months. Sharna goes on to ask about how Artem processed everything at the time, and he sadly admitted he hadn’t.
“I had to completely switch off ‘me,'” the 43-year-old recalled. Sharna suggested he was in survival mode at the time and he readily agreed.
“It was like a bad dream. All of it,” Artem shared.
The Ballroom Champion Learns to Find Closure
Artem Chigvintsev didn’t return for “Dancing With the Stars” season 33 or 34. Although he’s still struggling with closure, he’s learning to accept he probably won’t make it back to the stage he once called home.
“You do have this giant void in your life after the show,” the Russian dancer vulnerably said on “The Penthouse with Peta.” “But it’s the aftermath of other people telling you like, ‘oh, I miss you on the show,’ or ‘I’m like big fan.’ It’s a constant…And that never really goes away.”
“Dancing With the Stars” will return to ABC this September.
