After Joey Chestnut was banned from Nathan’s annual Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, many people began to look forward to Labor Day, when the world’s most famous eater would face his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi live on Netflix to settle their Unfinished Beef. However, when people fired up their Netflix subscriptions on September 2, a different face caught their attention. Nikki Garcia — aka the WWE’s Nikki Bella — was co-hosting the event, just days after her husband Artem Chigvintsev was arrested on charges of domestic violence, and social media users were sending her love and support.
Nikki Bella requested privacy following the arrest of her husband, who she started dating in 2019 after they were paired up on Dancing with the Stars. The alleged victim in the case against Artem Chigvintsev requested anonymity. While much is unknown surrounding the DWTS professional’s arrest, it’s safe to say that this has been a tough week for his wife, and this Twitter user was impressed to see her fulfilling her professional obligations, posting:
Nikki Garcia really is fearless. Even with everything going on, she moves forward. People would have understood if she decided to bow out of the #ChestnutVSKobayashi. But here she is taking care of business. pic.twitter.com/jGdd2X5HH1September 2, 2024
Others also expressed surprise that Nikki Garcia chose to go through with the event, with one fan noting that she looked “amazing” as they writing on Twitter:
Wow, I did not expect her to host the event with everything that has happened but Nikki Garcia is here.
Several people on social media noted that Nikki Bella was without her wedding ring as she hosted the eating competition alongside Rob Riggle, but the main focus (for this fan and others) was that she was OK. They wrote:
Nikki Garcia (fka Nikki Bella) is LIVE on Netflix for the Unfinished Beef Hot Dog challenge! She looks great, thank God! She is currently not wearing her wedding ring. Glad to see she is okay 🙏🏾❤️
More comments of love and support followed along those lines, including:
- Watching Chestnut vs Kobayashi and I see that Nikki Garcia is co-hosting the event. So happy to see she is doing better and is safe!! – petetach
- I’m glad to know that Nikki Bella is doing okay. I wish her nothing but happiness & safety 🙏🏼 – canucksgrande
- Watching #ChestnutVSKobayashi and seeing Nikki Garcia. Hope she is doing well. – CForClarity
Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev share one child together, a son Matteo who was born in 2020, two years before the former dance partners got married in 2022. On August 29, Chigvintsev was arrested in Napa County, California on charges of domestic violence, specifically under the state’s penal code making it illegal to injure a spouse, cohabitant, or fellow parent. Injuries were allegedly reported at the scene. Chigvintsev was ultimately released after posting $25,000 bail.
There’s probably more news that will come out of this sensitive situation, but for now, it was a relief for Netflix viewers to see Nikki Bella on their screens as she continues to move forward.
If you need help with domestic violence, you can chat with someone at thehotline.org, call 800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788. Confidential help is available 24/7 in more than 170 different languages.
