Cheryl Burke Is in 'Complete Shock' Over Artem Chigvintsev’s Arrest: 'He's My Family'

Mar. 15, 2025

From left: Cheryl Burke and Artem Chigvintsev.Photo:getty (2)Cheryl Burkeis speaking out aboutDancing with the StarsproArtem Chigvintsev’sarreston suspicion of domestic violence.On the Aug. 30 episode of her podcastSex, Lies and Spray Tans,Burke began, “I hesitate to smile right now because of the current news…which I am in complete shock about.“After noting that she had “grown up” with Chigvintsev, she shared. “We used to live together in my family’s home in the Bay Area. It’s so shocking. I get kind of emotional. My heart goes out to everyone involved.““It’s just really hard for me because he was — he’s my family,” she added. “I don’t know what to say here other than I hope everybody’s okay.“From left: Cheryl Burke and Artem Chigvintsev.getty (2)On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 29 in Napa, California, Chigvintsev was taken into custody on charges of corporal injury to spouse — presumably Garcia, although this has not been confirmed. He was released on $25,000 bail later that day, and Garcia’s rep has since released a statementrequesting privacy.“This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time,” it read.His arrest came two days after the couple celebrated their two-yearwedding anniversarywith sweet tribute posts onInstagram. In hers, Garcia shared a video montage of moments throughout their relationship, partially captioning it with lyrics toElvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”“This song is our love story,” she then wrote. “I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem. Having a conversation with He & God. How my feelings felt too soon. It all felt too fast. And then this song came on. And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be. 🙏🏼✨”“Happy Anniversary @theartemc I love you! ❤️‍🔥,” the caption concluded.Chigvintsev alsoposted, writing: “Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything ❤️”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The pair first met aspartnersonDWTSin 2017, but Garcia was engaged toJohn Cenaat the time. A year later, they broke up and Garcia and Chigvintsevreconnected.In 2020, they welcomed their sonMatteotogether, and they tied the knot in Paris in 2022. Their relationship had beenrocky at times, with theTotal Bellasalum admitting that being away from her husband while she was a judge forAGT: Extremewas difficult.“It’s been really hard on us,” she admitted, adding that things were “a little rocky for a bit,” but the two have had “sexy FaceTimes” and were “stronger than ever.”If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

From left: Cheryl Burke and Artem Chigvintsev.Photo:getty (2)

getty (2)

Cheryl Burkeis speaking out aboutDancing with the StarsproArtem Chigvintsev’sarreston suspicion of domestic violence.On the Aug. 30 episode of her podcastSex, Lies and Spray Tans,Burke began, “I hesitate to smile right now because of the current news…which I am in complete shock about.“After noting that she had “grown up” with Chigvintsev, she shared. “We used to live together in my family’s home in the Bay Area. It’s so shocking. I get kind of emotional. My heart goes out to everyone involved.““It’s just really hard for me because he was — he’s my family,” she added. “I don’t know what to say here other than I hope everybody’s okay.“From left: Cheryl Burke and Artem Chigvintsev.getty (2)On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 29 in Napa, California, Chigvintsev was taken into custody on charges of corporal injury to spouse — presumably Garcia, although this has not been confirmed. He was released on $25,000 bail later that day, and Garcia’s rep has since released a statementrequesting privacy.“This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time,” it read.His arrest came two days after the couple celebrated their two-yearwedding anniversarywith sweet tribute posts onInstagram. In hers, Garcia shared a video montage of moments throughout their relationship, partially captioning it with lyrics toElvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”“This song is our love story,” she then wrote. “I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem. Having a conversation with He & God. How my feelings felt too soon. It all felt too fast. And then this song came on. And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be. 🙏🏼✨”“Happy Anniversary @theartemc I love you! ❤️‍🔥,” the caption concluded.Chigvintsev alsoposted, writing: “Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything ❤️”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The pair first met aspartnersonDWTSin 2017, but Garcia was engaged toJohn Cenaat the time. A year later, they broke up and Garcia and Chigvintsevreconnected.In 2020, they welcomed their sonMatteotogether, and they tied the knot in Paris in 2022. Their relationship had beenrocky at times, with theTotal Bellasalum admitting that being away from her husband while she was a judge forAGT: Extremewas difficult.“It’s been really hard on us,” she admitted, adding that things were “a little rocky for a bit,” but the two have had “sexy FaceTimes” and were “stronger than ever.”If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

Cheryl Burkeis speaking out aboutDancing with the StarsproArtem Chigvintsev’sarreston suspicion of domestic violence.

On the Aug. 30 episode of her podcastSex, Lies and Spray Tans,Burke began, “I hesitate to smile right now because of the current news…which I am in complete shock about.”

After noting that she had “grown up” with Chigvintsev, she shared. “We used to live together in my family’s home in the Bay Area. It’s so shocking. I get kind of emotional. My heart goes out to everyone involved.”

“It’s just really hard for me because he was — he’s my family,” she added. “I don’t know what to say here other than I hope everybody’s okay.”

From left: Cheryl Burke and Artem Chigvintsev.getty (2)

On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 29 in Napa, California, Chigvintsev was taken into custody on charges of corporal injury to spouse — presumably Garcia, although this has not been confirmed. He was released on $25,000 bail later that day, and Garcia’s rep has since released a statementrequesting privacy.

“This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time,” it read.

His arrest came two days after the couple celebrated their two-yearwedding anniversarywith sweet tribute posts onInstagram. In hers, Garcia shared a video montage of moments throughout their relationship, partially captioning it with lyrics toElvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

“This song is our love story,” she then wrote. “I’ll never forget where I was when I asked Jesus about Artem. Having a conversation with He & God. How my feelings felt too soon. It all felt too fast. And then this song came on. And that’s when I knew that I was falling in love with him and that it was all meant to be. 🙏🏼✨”

“Happy Anniversary @theartemc I love you! ❤️‍🔥,” the caption concluded.

Chigvintsev alsoposted, writing: “Happy anniversary my love, can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything ❤️”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The pair first met aspartnersonDWTSin 2017, but Garcia was engaged toJohn Cenaat the time. A year later, they broke up and Garcia and Chigvintsevreconnected.

In 2020, they welcomed their sonMatteotogether, and they tied the knot in Paris in 2022. Their relationship had beenrocky at times, with theTotal Bellasalum admitting that being away from her husband while she was a judge forAGT: Extremewas difficult.

“It’s been really hard on us,” she admitted, adding that things were “a little rocky for a bit,” but the two have had “sexy FaceTimes” and were “stronger than ever.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com