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Artem Chigvintsev is firing back at Nikki Garcia (Bella) in their ugly divorce, claiming she completely made up domestic violence allegations that landed him behind bars — allegations she detailed in a restraining order she obtained Monday.
In new legal documents, obtained by TMZ, Artem painted the retired WWE star as the aggressor with anger issues that led to his arrest in late August, ultimately destroying their 2-year marriage.
Artem also filed photos with the court, showing injuries to his hand, elbow and the back of his head … claiming Nikki was responsible for it all.
On August 29, Artem says he was cooking breakfast for the now-estranged couple’s 4-year-old son, Matteo, in their Napa County, California home. He says Nikki was also present, stressing over what to wear to an upcoming Netflix event.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” cast member says Nikki started arguing with him over his failure, in her view, to adequately toast the bread.
Artem says their dispute escalated after Nikki chastised him for placing two food options — a quesadilla and chicken tenders — in Matteo’s lunch box.
Artem says he left the kitchen and went into the living room, where he helped Matteo get ready for school.
Nikki allegedly came into the room and yelled at Artem, saying he couldn’t even put Matteo’s shoes on properly.
Artem says he defended himself, which only made Nikki angrier, prompting her to throw the sneakers at him and strike him in the chest.
As Nikki screamed about getting a divorce, Artem says Matteo just stood there frightened and confused.
Artem says he pleaded with Nikki to calm down and brought Matteo upstairs to his room to protect him from the escalating situation.
Artem says Nikki followed them to the bedroom and tried to force open the door, while he held it closed with Matteo crying next to him.
During their struggle, Artem says he squeezed through an opening in the door to push his way out of the room so Matteo wouldn’t be exposed to their fight.
According to Artem, that’s when Nikki shoved her way inside the room and physically attacked him.
Artem says he attempted to fend off Nikki as the two ended up grappling on the floor.
Artem says he broke free and called 911 from his cell phone, telling the dispatcher what happened as Nikki shouted threats in the background.
In Artem’s account of the incident, Nikki said at one point, “Do you understand here this is gonna go now Artem. You just ruined my career and you know it.”
However, in Nikki’s version of events in her restraining order against Artem — after the breakfast disagreement and the shoe-throwing incident, she claims she tried to get into Matteo’s room, and Artem opened the door and tackled her to the ground outside Matteo’s room.
She says Artem then went back into Matteo’s room and closed the door — and she says she again tried to push open the door, and he then opened it and pushed her across the hall into the couple’s bedroom, forcing her to the floor in their bathroom. She says he had his hands on her chest near her sternum, pressing down — she says she felt like she was suffocating — and she says she grabbed at his neck in an attempt to get him off.
After the cops arrived, Artem says he gave his account and Nikki provided her story, which he says was a pack of lies to get him arrested for domestic violence. Artem was then carted off to jail to pose for a mug shot.
What’s curious … if police had observed injuries to Artem when they arrived at the house, standard procedure would have been to arrest Nikki for domestic violence, but that didn’t happen.
The Napa County District Attorney decided not to charge Artem due to insufficient evidence.
In his court filing, Artem sought a temporary restraining order against Nikki, and the judge signed off on it.
As you know, Nikki filed for divorce from Artem after their nasty altercation. It’s unclear if they have a prenup.