Nikki Garcia Says She and Ex-Husband Artem Are 'A Great Coparenting Team

Nikki Garcia is grateful that she and her ex-husband, Artem Chigvintsev, can amicably coparent their 5-year-old son, Matteo.

“I have so much passion and love for this business, and that’s why I was like, ‘I’m not gonna let people take away how much fun I had out there.’ I truly love wrestling,” Nikki, 41, said on the Thursday, September 4, episode of her and twin sister Brie Garcia’s eponymous podcast. “That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m traveling every week.”

Nikki, who initially retired from the wrestling ring in 2019, returned to her WWE roots earlier this year.

“I have to give it to Artem, who’s been amazing at adapting to my schedule,” she said on Thursday’s episode. “I get Matteo almost more, and he lets me, like, he’s amazing.”

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She continued, “[We’re] a great team. We’ve adapted well, and Matteo’s thriving, and it’s like, all these things. I’m having so much fun.”

Brie, also 41, responded and complimented her sister’s dynamics with Chigvintsev, 43.

“You and Artem have been a great team,” Brie said. “Both of you have really adapted well to everything.”

Nikki and Chigvintsev both filed for divorce in August 2024, which was finalized three months later. In their divorce settlement, Nikki was ordered to pay the Dancing With the Stars alum monthly spousal support and a lump sum of $200,000.

“Divorce has to deal with the paper, the contract you signed during marriage. The day of marriage, at the court before marriage, whatever,” Nikki said on a May podcast episode. “Yes, I had to give him $200,000. Spousal support, alimony.”

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She continued, “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.’ It was nice to hear that … even though it hurts because I broke my neck for that money.”

Despite the financial changes, Nikki and Chigvintsev have made sure to put Matteo’s well-being first.

“[Coparenting] is definitely doable,” Chigvintsev said on the “Glamorous Grind” podcast in February. “Obviously, both parties put the best foot forward [to] accommodate the kid. [At] the end of the day, what’s best for Matteo is best for me. …  If you take your own ego out of it, you really have to think of what is best for him, not necessarily what you think would be best for him.”