‘Heartbroken’ Nikki Garcia breaks silence on Artem Chigvintsev divorce

Nikki Garcia is opening up just weeks after finalizing her divorce with now-ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev.
The WWE star sharing that she “disconnected” from the world because she’s “heartbroken” over the breakdown of her marriage.
“The past few months, I disconnected from social media, from the world,” Garcia said on the Monday episode of the “Nikki & Brie podcast.” “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. So I was going to do whatever it took for that, most importantly, and then just needing space, for healing, for facing trauma, head on, all of that. So it’s been tough. It’s been really tough. I’ve been heartbroken, sad.”
The Total Bellas alum also noted that the demise of the relationship isn’t what she expected. “You dream of having this family, and you have this incredible love,” she explained, “and it just goes the other way. And you go from having a great love story to having a terrible one, and — never saw any of it coming. You know, as far as what the ending would be. So it’s just been a struggle.”
And the 41-year-old admits her personal well being has been severely affected after the “shock” of her divorce. “I’ve been so shocked, like beyond words, and it’s been heartbreaking,” she added. “You lose your appetite, you cry a lot. And then I also stepped up and made sure everything was okay for Matteo,” she said, referring to their 4-year-old son.
“And so it’s just been—I don’t even know what other words to use.”
But despite the circulating gossip surrounding their “heartbreaking” split, Garcia remains focused on getting herself back.
“The one thing that I have realized disconnecting from the world, it’s when you know the truth, nothing else matters,” she explained. “So when some of you would come to me and tell me what people were saying or what was out there, it would affect me in some way, but because I know the truth, and I actually lived it, it didn’t have a big effect on me.”
She added, “All I need to do is focus on my healing. I need to focus on Matteo’s healing.”
Garcia’s comments come just a couple weeks after the pair finalized their divorce following Chigvintsev’s arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. He was not charged following an investigation.
A rep for Garcia told E! News the couple also decided to drop the domestic violence restraining orders filed against each other “in an effort to move on with their lives and effectively co-parent their son.”