Dancing With the Stars alum Artem Chigvintsev appeared at the show’s milestone episode amid legal troubles and his divorce.
Artem, 42, separated from Nikki Bella Garcia, 40, his former DWTS partner, earlier this year.
DWTS’s 500th episode occurred earlier this week as the Season 33 competition continued.
Another professional dancer, Sharna Burgess, performed in the show’s opening number, which included Season 25’s dancers and former pro dancers, DWTS judge Derek Hough and co-host Julianne Hough.
Meanwhile, Artem wasn’t part of the show but attended to support his colleagues during the taping. He shared former DWTS co-star Peta Murgatroyd’s Instagram Story slide, where she took a video of him dancing with others in the stands at the event.
Over the slide, Peta included a party emoji and a disco ball and tagged Artem, Dancing With the Stars, and her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s Instagram accounts.
Artem appeared at DWTS amid a nasty divorce and legal issues
Artem’s appearance arrives after his domestic violence arrest in late August in Napa Valley, California. The victim in the incident asked officers for complete confidentiality during the arrest.
As mentioned, Artem is now involved in divorce proceedings with Nikki Bella, who TMZ indicated was in Napa Valley when the incident occurred.
Artem was released on bail the same day as his arrest. The District Attorney’s office decided not to press criminal charges against him, and Artem has continued to maintain his innocence.
In early September, Monsters and Critics reported that Nikki, who now goes by Nikki Garcia, sought out divorce lawyers to begin divorce proceedings a week after Artem’s arrest. On September 11, it was announced they were divorcing.
Nikki and Artem were partners on DWTS before marrying years later
Nikki competed alongside Artem for DWTS Season 25 in 2017, with the couple getting sent home sixth overall. At the time, Nikki was engaged to fellow WWE star John Cena.
Nikki and Cena ended their engagement in July 2018. That led to Artem and Nikki developing a relationship away due to their previous connection on DWTS.
They went Instagram official in 2019, got engaged later that year, and welcomed a son in 2020. In 2022, they married.
Following Artem’s arrest, People reported that he and Nikki were granted restraining orders against one another in early October.
Artem last appeared in DWTS Season 32, where he competed alongside The Bachelorette’s Charity Lawson. They finished fourth overall.
DWTS Season 33 premiered mid-September, with Artem excluded from the professional dance cast.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.