Nikki Garcia is speaking out after details of her divorce settlement with ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev were revealed.
“Everyone’s had opinions about Artem and I’s divorce settlement. It’s everywhere,” Nikki, 41, shared during the Thursday, May 22, episode of “The Nikki & Brie Show” podcast.
Nikki first clarified that her divorce from Chigvintsev, 42, had “nothing to do” with the August 2024 “incident” between the two.
Chigvintsev was booked on a felony domestic violence charge after an alleged physical altercation between them. The charges have since been dropped. Both Nikki and Chigvintsev filed for divorce following the incident. They settled three months later. TMZ broke the news of their divorce settlement — revealing that Nikki had to pay Chigvintsev a hefty sum of money — earlier this month. (Nikki and Chigvintsev share 4-year-old son Matteo.)
“Divorce has to deal with the paper, the contract you signed during marriage. The day of marriage, at the court before marriage, whatever,” Nikki continued on Thursday. “So, our settlement is what everyone saw. Yes, I had to give him $200,000. Spousal support, alimony.”
Nikki’s sister, Brie Garcia, chimed in, adding, “That’s what happens when you’re the breadwinner.”
Nikki claimed that she “got a steal” with their settlement, “which is crazy to say,” she added.
“Our judge — we did private mediation — said at the end of it, ‘This is the first time in all the years I’ve done this, where a woman had to pay a man.’ The judge said, ‘You should be so damn proud that you built such an empire that someone wants a piece of it,’” Nikki recalled, noting that she promised the judge to make any man in the future sign a prenup before getting married.
“It was nice to hear that … even though it hurts because I broke my neck for that money,” Nikki added. “That money, all that is my hard-earned money.”
Brie chimed in again, telling listeners that she told Nikki that Chigvintsev “needs to sign a prenup” before they get married — but they never did.
“They’re all like, ‘Oh, so he got the money because she lost.’ No, no, no. Child support. If you are the breadwinner, if you make more money, it is literally a state calculator,” Nikki explained. “They put in the incomes, and they go, ‘Boom, this one makes more money. This is what you owe per month.’”
Nikki said that “at any point” until Matteo is 18, she and Chigvintsev can go back to court because “child support changes.” She added, “It’s strictly having a kid in a marriage. That’s all it is.”
Nikki also told listeners that she and Chigvintsev “are in a great place” at the moment.
“We are coparenting so amazing, and it makes Matteo’s life so amazing, and I don’t want it any other way,” she said. “When all of this came up, it sucks because things in Matteo’s world right now [are] so great because Artem and I are so on the same page, and I want that.”
The former WWE star said paying for child support “doesn’t bother me” because she wants the best for Matteo.
“Child support is so the child could have an equal life in both homes. That’s where it comes from, and so it is hard,” Nikki continued. “I don’t even think twice about it because I’m like, that is making sure Matteo is also 50/50, half of his other time is a good life.”
Nikki also addressed public speculation surrounding the August 2024 day when the alleged incident between her and Chigvintsev occurred.
“I have been so damn honest from day one and that’s why when everyone says, ‘She’s glowing, she’s so happy,’ because I’ve lived in my truth,” she said. “I know how to take accountability. I know what it’s like not to be perfect. I’m not a perfect person, but if something like that, if it was opposite, I would have taken accountability. I would’ve have said, “I f*** up. I need help,” but that was not me that day.”
