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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Lea Thompson has revealed what it was like to work with Artem Chigvintsev on Dancing with the Stars.
The Back to the Future actor, 63, was partnered with the professional dancer, who was arrested and released on bail for domestic violence in August, for the 19th season of the long-running dancing competition in 2014.
Thompson, who placed sixth in the competition, described working with Chigvintsev during his first year on the show as “intense” and admitted she struggled with the dancer’s rigid training methods.
Speaking on the Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, Thompson said: “It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him.
“He was so intense. It was so much more important to him than to me, honestly. And so that made me really nervous, [it] made me crazy after a while.”
Speaking to the former Dancing with the Stars professional Cheryl Burke, Thompson continued: “It was also really really hard for me because I was a ballet dancer and a modern dancer. First day, he was like, ‘I’ve never taken any of that stuff, I’ve only taken ballroom,’”
“All this stuff that I knew, he knew none of that. I was never allowed to say, ‘Can I try this?’ He would get so mad at me.”
The Some Kind of Wonderful star dubbed Chigvintsev “implacable” adding she found their dynamic “hard because you’re supposed to also kind of love them”.
Thompson said Dancing with the Stars’ “confrontational” atmosphere had been difficult for her to handle. “Where you’re trying to be everything for everybody then it’s really difficult,” she said.
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“Being wholesome and sexy and funny and strong and stand up for yourself, but not be too mean. All of that, while you’re exhausted. You don’t have a day off, and your body hurts. And you’re literally afraid you’re gonna kill yourself.”
Thompson added Chigvintsev had made a “weird” comment, claiming “men are much better than women.” When she questioned why he thought that, he replied, “because they’re stronger.”
The Independent has contacted Chigvintsev’s representatives for comment.
Despite their differences, Thompson added she thought their tense relationship mostly stemmed from Chigvintsev’s nerves at being on the show.
“I just mostly felt he was super nervous and couldn’t show it and that kind of got transmitted to me,” she said.
Thompson added she had been shocked to hear Chigvintsev had been arrested on accusations of corporal injury to a spouse. “It’s surprising to me,” she said. “He seems sweet… I don’t know what happened.”
Chigvintsev has been married to former wrestler Nikki Garcia, who used to be known as Nikki Bella, since 2022. They celebrated their second wedding anniversary on August 27.
The professional dancer has previously appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK. In 2015, he denied “kicking and shoving” Fern Britton during their time training together.
TV presenter Britton was paired with Chigvintsev for the 2012 series of the BBC1 series but later told The Times that he had “kicked” and “shoved” her during their rehearsals.
Britton reportedly said that Chigvintsev would “look at her feet and just kick or shove” before jokingly telling her “shut your face” and “go home before I kill you”.
Chigvintsev insisted that Britton’s statements “do not reflect any situation [he] recognises”.
