"Artem has wanted to reconcile with Nikki. He doesn't want the family to be divided, and [would love] to put this behind them," a source revealed to Us Weekly in an article published on Wednesday, October 16.
However, the insider added that Nikki, 40, has no interest in reconciling and "wants to move forward. Because of this, Artem, 42, will "respect [Nikki's] wishes and boundaries."
The news of Artem's wish to get back together came after months of a messy split that was seemingly set into motion by the Russia native's arrest on August 29. Police arrived at a property in Napa County, California, after Artem himself made a call to 911 due to a "medical emergency." TMZ obtained an audio clip of the phone call and the dispatcher could be heard saying that "he got into an argument with his wife and his wife threw shoes" at him.
Artem initially canceled the request for medical assistance while the paramedics were en route, but authorities returned to the property later that day and arrested him. He was arrested on California penal code 273.5(a). That specific code "makes it illegal to injure a spouse, cohabitant or fellow parent in an act of domestic violence. This offense is also referred to as domestic abuse, domestic violence or corporal injury to a spouse."
On September 11, Nikki filed for divorce, followed by Artem filing his own paperwork days later. Both parties listed the date of Artem's arrest as the official separation date in their filings.
Two weeks later, the charges against Artem were dropped.
"Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today that her office has declined to file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence," a press release on September 24 stated. "The decision to not file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA's Office."
The following day, the professional dancer broke his silence on the incident.
"I am incredibly relieved and grateful that the domestic violence charges against me have been dropped," Artem told E! News on September 25. "This has been an extremely difficult time for me. I am thankful that the truth has prevailed."
Since then, both Artem and Nikki have each filed restraining orders against the other. Artem requested a "domestic violence restraining order" against the Total Bellas alum hours after she filed her own paperwork. In Nikki's request for a restraining order, she claimed that Artem "tackled [her] multiple times and pinned [her] to the ground while [her] child was present," and that he became "increasingly angry, snapping at me, and yelling" after he was not invited back to appear in Dancing With the Stars season 33.
On October 9, an insider exclusively told Life & Style that Artem and the former WWE wrestler's marriage was far from perfect and the two often disagreed.
"Friends are starting to talk, most say it was no secret that Nikki and Artem disagreed a lot and butted heads often," the source explained. "They were verbally abusive towards each other and while the physical allegations were surprising, it wasn't necessarily shocking to learn."