Lea Thompson recalls ‘intense’ Artem Chigvintsev getting ‘so mad’ at her on DWTS – amid domestic battery arrest

Lea Thompson reflected on her DWTS partnership with the ‘intense’ Artem Chigvintsev, while he was arrested for domestic violence.

The 42-year-old professional dancer was recently released on bail after being arrested on domestic violence charges in Napa County, California on August 29. The star is now reportedly fighting to save his relationship with his 40-year-old wife Nikki Garcia.

Thompson, 63, partnered with Chigvintsev in 2014 on season 19 of the ABC reality series, finishing in sixth place.

The actress said she struggled with the dancer’s rigorous training methods as he tried to impress during his first year on the show.

She said on the Monday, September 9, episode of the Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast:It was hard to work 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 it was to me, honestly. And that really made me nervous, made me crazy after a while.

Speaking to host and former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke, she added: “It was really, really hard for me too because I was a ballet dancer and a modern dancer. The first day he was like, ‘I’ve never done any of that stuff, I’ve only done ballroom,'”

“All these things that I knew, he didn’t know. I was never allowed to say, ‘Can I try this?’ He got so mad at me.”

She called Chigvintsev “so relentless” and said: “That was difficult, because you have to love them too.”

“I remember one time he got really mad at me because I was counting crazy,” Thompson said. He said, “Why are you counting like that?” I said, “I’m sorry.” I said, “My mind works different.”

She also claimed that Chigvintsev told her that “men are much better than women.”

She added: ‘And I said, “Why?” And he said, “Because they’re stronger.” And I said, “But they don’t have babies. I had a baby.”

Thompson said Chigvintsev no longer follows her on social media, but that she was “surprised” to hear about his arrest because “he has a cat.”

She also praised Nikki and Chigvintsev’s collaboration on the show in 2017, a year before they started dating.

She said, “I saw when they were doing their dance that she flipped him over and threw him on the ground. I was like, ‘Go!’ You know, she was doing a wrestling move. You’re showing her that she’s just as strong as you are. So I thought that was pretty cool.”

Thompson claimed that Chigvintsev unfollowed her on social media. Despite their differences, Thompson said she was “surprised” by Chigvintsev’s recent arrest. “He has a cat, what can I say!” Thompson said. “Or, he had a cat. … I don’t know what happened.”

Artem and Nikki still follow each other on the social media platform.

It follows news that the dancer is desperately trying to save his marriage to Nikki, but she believes ‘divorce is the only option’.

Police were called to the couple’s $1.5 million Yountville, California, home after reports of a fight.

Sources say the couple called 911 twice: first to ask for help for an injury, then they called back and asked emergency services not to come.

But with domestic violence looming in the background, Napa Sheriff’s Department officers went to the couple’s leafy neighborhood anyway, and took Russian-born Chigvintsev away.

He was booked into the Napa County Jail at 10:59 a.m. on suspicion of domestic violence. He was released on $25,000 bail at approximately 2:18 a.m.

In a photo released by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, the ballerina looks somber in a plaid shirt and gray beard.

The arrest, which reportedly came after Garcia threw shoes at her husband, came less than four days after the couple celebrated the anniversary of their August 2022 wedding — with both marking the moment on social media.

And now Artem is reportedly doing everything he can to prove to his wife Nikki that he ‘can be a different man.’

While she has reportedly banned Artem from seeing their four-year-old son Matteo unsupervised and is seeking a divorce lawyer, sources have revealed to DailyMail.com that he is fighting “the fight of his life” to win her back – especially now that he has been cut from the upcoming season of DWTS.

“Artem is very frustrated and angry that he was not asked to return for this season of Dancing with the Stars, and now it looks like he may never return,” they said.

‘His life, both professionally and personally, has been and continues to be turned upside down.’

“He doesn’t know what his next move is with Nikki. He’s been angry for a long time and now he’s in the fight of his life to clear his name and win Nikki back. But he hasn’t decided what he can do to show her that he can be a different person.”

‘They are currently having a limited dialogue with each other.’

“If and when he sees Matteo, Nikki wants it supervised. Her trust is out the window and she’s very angry with Artem, he’s got a tough fight ahead of him. It’s all a mess.”

“She’s tried and tried to make it work, but she thinks divorce is the only option. It hurts, but Nikki is such a strong woman, and she’s doing what’s right for her, and for Matteo.”

While Artem is desperately trying to repair his marriage, Nikki’s twin sister Brie Garcia reportedly wants her sister to leave him for good.

Earlier this week, an insider close to former WWE star Brie, 40, said she was “disgusted” by the news of Artem’s arrest and wants her twin brother to have nothing to do with him.

“Nikki’s sister Brie is shocked, disappointed and just sad that this has happened,” they told DailyMail.com.

“She loves Artem, and for this to happen is so impossible for the person she knows. Brie is very concerned about it and is there for her sister no matter what.”

The addition: ‘Brie, who is clearly the closest to Nikki, as anyone would, tells her to leave Artem. If this is as bad as it seems, and if it has happened before, she will be the first to tell Nikki to leave him once she learns everything that has happened.’

Nikki and Artem’s two-year marriage was reportedly plagued by feuding, but his violent outburst has shocked the WWE star and her family.

“One thing Nikki never showed was the verbal issues she had with Artem,” the source continued. “They weren’t very nice to each other and they never built a friendship.”

“Their sole focus was on their son and not on each other. That led to arguments, but as far as anyone knows, it never became physical.”

“Family and friends are very surprised that it became physical, but they’re not really surprised that there were problems. To outsiders, it seemed like normal relationship problems.”

Over the weekend, Nikki was spotted boarding a JSX flight to Sin City at Oakland Airport without her wedding ring. She was accompanied by her son and an assistant.

According to TMZ, Nikki began her search for a lawyer the day after Artem allegedly attacked her.

According to the publication, she has been making phone calls since Friday and plans to end her marriage.

Artem and Nikki’s paths first crossed in 2017, when they worked together on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Artem previously dated other celebrities, including dancer Giselle Peacock, 43, between 2004 and 2005. He also dated DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba, 56, between 2006 and 2008.