Former Strictly professional says he lost £77k in income after domestic violence arrest

Artem Chigvintsev prepares for Dancing with the Stars

Ex-Strictly Come Dancing star Artem Chigvintsev claims to have suffered a staggering financial hit after a domestic violence arrest, saying he's more than £77,000 out of pocket.

The 42 year old dancer, who graced the BBC competition from 2010 to 2013 before lighting up the US stage on Dancing with the Stars, before being entangled in legal troubles.

This came after an altercation with his former partner and WWE star Nikki Garcia, also known as Nikki Bella.

In August, Artem was arrested under suspicion of domestic violence but was not charged in the subsequent month.

According to TMZ, which cited recent court documents, Artem disputes the notion that he's been unable to dance professionally after his exit from DWTS's last season.

Nikki and Artem were married for two years (Image: Getty)

Documents obtained by MailOnline filed on October 31 at Napa Superior Court, reportedly affirm: “It is not true that I have not been able to find other work as a dancer. I normally start jobs in November and it goes for 20 weekends.”

Artem lamented the severe financial repercussions stemming from the allegations: "After the mug shot and the arrest based on her false allegations.

“I was taken off the website faculty list resulting in loss of over $100k in income.

“I also lost the social media promotion revenue, which she continues to benefit from as she was more worried about her career when she lied to the police, than mine.”

Artem left Strictly in 2013 (Image: BBC)

It was reported that Artem has asserted in legal documents that Nikki is “the one with the temper” unequivocally stating he was “not violent” during the incident on August 29.

He claimed: “She is the one with the temper. I try to stay quiet and avoid it. She yells, and on 8/29/24 was yelling, pursuing me, and was the one who attacked me.

“It is further a lie that I was growing increasingly angry, snapping at her, and yelling. I was not violent with her and did not violently grab or yell at her.”

Artem, who shares a four year old son with his partner, had previously called Nikki “the aggressor” in their dispute.

Artem faced arrest over suspicions of domestic violence in August, but in September, the Napa County District Attorney announced no charges would be brought against him.

Nikki, in her legal submission, claimed that her husband had “tackled me multiple times and pinned me to the ground while our child was present.”

She described him as becoming “increasingly angry, snapping at me and yelling” after he wasn't invited back to DWTS.

It has been previously disclosed that Nikki admitted in court documents to throwing a shoe at Artem during a heated exchange, which she stated "contacted" his leg, but insisted they "weigh hardly anything and could not have hurt him".

The 40-year-old conceded it wasn't "right" and expressed that she was "so overwhelmed with everything that had happened that morning that I had a momentary lapse in judgement."