Nikki Garcia has broken her silence on her heartbreaking divorce from husband Artem Chigvintsev.
Last month, the retired WWE wrestler - known to fans as Nikki Bella - and the 'Dancing With The Stars' pro finalised their separation out of court just two months after filing papers and following Artem’s August arrest amid allegations of domestic violence, though he was not charged.
And speaking for the first time about the "tough" time, Nikki explained why it was important to give herself the "space" to face the "trauma head-on" and in privacy for the sake of the former couple's four-year-old son Matteo.
Speaking on Monday's (02.12.24) episode of 'The Nikki and Brie Show' podcast, she confessed: “I’ve been heartbroken.
“You dream of having this family and you have this incredible love, and it just goes the other way. You go from having a great love story to having a terrible one.”
Explaining her absence from social media, she said: “I disconnected from social media, from the world, and I just knew that I needed to disconnect because first things first, I’m a mom and my son’s protection and privacy is the most important.
“I was going to do whatever it took for that most importantly, and then just needing space for healing, for facing trauma head-on.”
After the podcast episode, Nikki doesn't want to ever have to address the breakup again.
She said: “It’s been a struggle.
"I know being a public figure, I have to say a little bit about this, right? After this, I don’t want to ever talk about [it] again, because I truly do want privacy for Matteo. That has been the most important part.”
Although the pair – who were married for two years - are no longer together, she insists Artem is "still family" because they have a child.
She said: “You sit there, and you go, I shared my life with this person. I thought it was so different.
“Just to see what someone can do. You know, we’re a family. No matter what, at the end of the day, even when two people divorce, if you have children, you’re still a family.”
And Nikki insists she has nothing to fear as she knows the “truth” of what went down between them.
She concluded: “This whole situation’s been really just hard to wrap my head around it. I never would have thought.
“You couldn’t have told me how the ending of my 2024 would have been. I would have thought you were crazy. But the one thing that I have realised disconnecting from the world, when you know the truth, nothing else matters.”
The pair offered different accounts of the events that led up to the dancer's arrest, with Artem claiming Nikki is the "one with the temper" as he denied being “violent” towards her.
