Artem Chigvintsev Aims for Dancing With the Stars Comeback Amid Nikki Bella Divorce Drama

Artem Chigvintsev is hopeful that he will return to Dancing With the Stars amid his divorce drama from estranged wife Nikki Garcia, formerly known as Nikki Bella.

The professional dancer’s attorney, Ilona Antonyan, told TMZ on Thursday, November 14, that producers for DWTS have not reached out to Artem, 42, about potentially joining the cast of season 34. However, she said that he would love to return to the show if he was asked.

Despite not competing as a pro for the current season 33, Ilona insisted that Artem is still on good terms with the show and its producers. She added that one of the executive producers even personally invited Artem to attend the 500th episode, which was filmed on Tuesday, November 12.

During the episode, Artem was spotted sitting in the audience alongside fellow DWTS pros Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Peta, 38, later took to her Instagram Stories to document the three of them dancing in the crowd during the live broadcast.

Artem appeared at the taping more than two months after he was arrested in Napa Valley, California, on August 29 on domestic violence charges. He made a 911 call requesting help, though canceled the request while authorities were en route. Officials ultimately arrived at the scene and he was placed under arrest following a dispute with Nikki, 40.

Life & Style confirmed that he was booked on California penal code 273.5(a). That specific code “makes it illegal to injure a spouse, cohabitant or fellow parent in an act of domestic violence. This offense is also referred to as domestic abuse, domestic violence or corporal injury to a spouse.”

After Artem posted bail and was released the same day as his arrest, Nikki filed for divorce on September 11 and asked for sole custody of their son, Matteo. However, Artem requested joint custody in his own filing. A judge later granted Artem’s request for joint custody of Matteo, 4, on October 16, according to documents obtained by TMZ.

The Russia native’s domestic violence charges were dropped September 24, and he broke his silence regarding his arrest on September 25.

“I am incredibly relieved and grateful that the domestic violence charges against me have been dropped,” he told E! News in a statement at the time. “This has been an extremely difficult time for me. I am thankful that the truth has prevailed.”

While his charges were dropped, the drama between him and Nikki continued and they have both since filed restraining orders against each other.

Meanwhile, Artem claimed that he had lost $100,000 due to his arrest. “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,” the father of one reportedly stated in court documents, which were viewed by the Daily Mail on November 6. “After the mugshot 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.”

He then claimed that Nikki lied to the police when he was arrested, and he alleged that she was the abusive one in their relationship. “She is the one with the temper. I try to stay quiet and avoid it. She yells, and on August 29 was yelling, pursuing me, and was the one who attacked me,” Artem said.