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“I think it’s going to take me a while to get back in that place and also to just feel confident about my body,” she said on the idea of dating again.
Nikki Garcia is opening up about the breakdown of her marriage to Artem Chigvintsev.
In her cover story with Us Weekly, the former professional wrestler revealed she feels “stronger” everyday.
“I’m definitely finding more moments of joy,” she told the publication. “[I’m] excited to just live this new era of me.”
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“I’ve really taken the time to kind of date myself,” Nikki said of her “amazing” 2025 thus far. “I have days where I get to focus a lot on me and self-care and just really get to know who I am in my 40s. I feel like I have this whole new era to look at, and I get to choose how I want to be and [where to] take it.”
She said she decided to take a step back from the public eye during her divorce because “everything was very shocking.”
“You couldn’t have ever told me that this would’ve been the ending of my 2024 or my marriage — [I] wouldn’t have believed you. It takes a long time to process something. I needed that disconnection to process everything that happened,” she explained, crediting her therapist and family for helping her through it.
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The former couple are now coparenting their four-year-old son, Matteo.
While Garcia said their son is not affected by the divorce and is quite happy going from house to house, she finds it “incredibly tough.”
“I had never been in our home without him. So getting through those days is extremely difficult because I just love being around my son so much,” she said.
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She said their “focus” has been Matteo, with Nikki saying the pair put aside their issues over Christmas to ensure he could have a normal holiday.
“We made sure we were both there when we baked Santa’s cookies. Matteo went to bed and we both were there when he woke up. Because he’s our focus, we want to keep those moments,” she revealed.
Looking back at what she went through, the 41-year-old does not have regrets, adding that she believes “things happen for a reason.”
She even said she still believes in love — but admitted she needs to do some work accepting herself before dating again.
“I can definitely see myself falling in love again. I don’t think it’ll be anytime soon. I think it’s going to take me a while to get back in that place and also to just feel confident about my body,” she said before adding her concerns about having a “mom bod” and some men not being understanding of that.
While she may be open to dating in the future, she added she doesn’t want to be “legally” bound to someone or “sign paperwork” in a relationship ever again … and “definitely” doesn’t want more children.
Their Break-Up
Nikki’s insight comes months after her ex-husband, Dancing With the Stars pro was arrested on a suspicion of felony domestic violence charge.
Chigvintsev was arrested on Aug. 29 following an incident at his and Nikki’s home. According to a September press release, local prosecutors decided not to press charges after evaluating the evidence.
That same month, Nikki filed for divorce from the 42-year-old, listing his arrest as their official date of separation, per court documents obtained by TMZ.
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
