Brie Bella encouraged sister Nikki to file for divorce

Sep 16, 2024 - by James Walsh

Photo Credit: WWE

It was reported on August 29th that Artem Chingvintsev, the husband of former WWE star Nikki Garcia aka Nikki Bella, was arrested on a felony domestic violence (battery) charge. It was later revealed that Nikki asked for legal and physical custody of their son Matteo in divorce documents.

In an update on the situation, eonline.com is reporting that Artem filed a response to her divorce papers. It was noted that Artem requested spousal support from Garcia and asked her to pay his attorneys fees. Furthermore, Artem is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their son.

Entertainment Tonight also stated the following about the divorce…

“A source tells ET, Nikki Garcia was ‘scared and rattled’ after her husband, Artem Chigvintsev, was arrested for domestic violence in August. Her twin sister, Brie, encouraged her to file for divorce, as ‘any sort of violence does not fly’ and she was ‘worried about Nikki and her son.’”

15 Responses

  1. Luke says:

    I was going to post something funny about Artem Chumbawumba, but then I read this:
    “requested spousal support from Garcia and asked her to pay his attorneys fees”.

    Is this… No, I don’t even know what to ask. Can someone please figure out the right question and then answer it? I will be extremely grateful.

  2. Pisto75666 says:

    The correct question (in my opinion) is “is he high and/or drunk? (to ask for such a thing)” and the answer would be yes.

  3. What? says:

    @Pisto75666: I like that one. Another good one would be “How did he find moderate success as a dancer when he must be blind and tone deaf to not consider how that looks and sounds?” Unfortunately, I fail part two because I don’t have a good answer.

    @Luke: Bonus points for working in a Chumbawamba reference. Hopefully a judge hears Artem’s “requests” and they get knocked down and don’t get up again.

  4. Joseph says:

    I’m not really surprised by this. He’s no longer on Dancing with the Stars and I don’t think anyone is going to be hiring him anytime soon since this is the second time he’s been accused of abuse. it’s not really surprising that he’s going to ask her to pay spousal support and attorney fees.

  5. Luke says:

    @Pisto75666 & What?
    Thank you both, but I was thinking more about the lines of how ol’ Chumbs makes a menstruating vagina or the act of breastfeeding seem masculine…

    @Joseph
    And you don’t see just having this option as a major flaw in both the legal system and what current society deems acceptable?

  6. Joseph says:

    @Luke
    Personally, I believe it depends on the situation. In some cases, no, I don’t see a problem with it. In this case, yes, I do see a problem with it because in California where they lived, it’s a 50/50 divorce. All marital assets and debt are split evenly unless there was a prenup. I’m not sure what he is worth but I’m guessing she’s worth a whole lot more.
    Acceptable by society? Do you mean the whole asking for spousal support or the fact that he’s a man asking for it?

  7. Luke says:

    @Joseph
    Man. I’m all for women getting spousal support when they’re the ones that end up with the children. I could understand a man wanting it in very unique situations, but this is not one of them.

    But I’m talking about him wanting her to pay for his lawyers, whose sole purpose is to take even more money away from her. I’m still having trouble processing that one.

  8. Joseph says:

    @Luke
    I can think of two reasons for it. One, he’s doing it out of spite just to hurt her because she left him and filed for divorce. The second reason is that he sees himself as a blameless victim in this and since she left him and filed for divorce, she should pay.

  9. Luke says:

    @Joseph
    I don’t care about the reasons, the world is filled with worthless humans who will take advantage of every opportunity, he’s just another on a long list. I just can’t understand how something like this is even possible.

  10. Joseph says:

    @Luke
    To be honest, I don’t know except to say that it’s how the legal system is set up. He is able to ask for her to pay his attorney fees because she is worth more and no doubt makes more money than he does. He is able to ask her to pay his attorney fees because his having to hire a lawyer to defend himself is an unexpected expense.

  11. Luke says:

    @Joseph
    I don’t know what to say to that…

  12. What? says:

    I don’t fully know the legal system, but technically I think he can *ask* for anything he wants. He has that right. Just like a judge has the right to not make it through a complete reading of his petition on account of uncontrollable laughter.

  13. Joseph says:

    He has the right to ask for these things because other people have the right to ask for them. If he wasn’t allowed to ask, the people who need it wouldn’t be allowed to ask either. Just because he asks for something, it doesn’t mean he’ll get it.

    I read that while he petitioned the court for spousal support, Nikki Garcia petitioned the court to terminate spousal support.

  14. Disgruntled Jobber says:

    The motion for her to pay his legal fees is not that uncommon. It will be denied, and he’ll have to retain his own legal counsel. Being formerly married, he and Nikki more than likely shared counsel.

    I highly doubt that he’ll qualify for assigned counsel or a public defender. He first has to retain counsel for the criminal matter, as it would be extremely rare for a practicing attorney to handle both criminal and matrimonial cases.

  15. Joseph says:

    @Disgruntled Jobber
    “he and Nikki more than likely shared counsel.”
    I’ve never known a couple going through a divorce to share the same lawyer. Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest for a lawyer to represent two individuals going after each other? I can understand if the divorce is amicable. In that case a lawyer wouldn’t be required but a mediator.

    “I highly doubt that he’ll qualify for assigned counsel or a public defender”
    In PA where I live you can only get a public defender for a criminal case. A divorce is considered a civil case and in a civil case they are not required to provide legal representation.

    “He first has to retain counsel for the criminal matter, as it would be extremely rare for a practicing attorney to handle both criminal and matrimonial cases.”
    An attorney can handle a civil and criminal case at the same time. Many attorneys do it. My guess is he already has one for the criminal charges and if smart, he’d use that same person for the divorce case.

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