Cheryl Burke Breaks Her Silence After 'Dancing With The Stars' Pro Artem Chigvintsev Arrest: 'Complete Shock'
While talking about Artem Chigvintsev's arrest on her podcast, Cheryl Burke got very emotional.
'Dancing with the Stars' star, Artem Chigvintsev, was arrested for felony domestic violence Thursday morning. His arrest took place only three short days after he celebrated his wedding anniversary to Nikki Garcia.
Burke, 40, and Chigvintsev had been close before they joined the ABC dancing competition show together. On a recent episode of 'Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans,' published Thursday, Burke shared with listeners that she and Chigvintsev "used to live together" in her "family's home in the Bay area."
"I hesitate to smile right now because of the current news... which I am in complete shock about," she said on the podcast, which was recorded a few short hours after Chigvintsev's arrest.
Burke continued, "Artem — it's so shocking, I get kind of emotional — so he was arrested today. And domestic violence has been thrown in the mix. I'm not going to say that he was charged with [that] but allegedly, domestic violence was the issue and he has a bail of like $25,000."
Despite her shock, the TV host made it clear that she does not sympathize with domestic violence of any kind.
"My heart goes out to everyone involved," she said. "It's just really hard for me because he is my family and I don't know what to say here other than I hope everybody is okay."
The accusations compared with the friend that she grew up with do not seem to go hand-in-hand to the dancer. "Domestic violence and Artem don't really... that's why it's so shocking."
Meanwhile, Garcia -- a former WWE star -- also broke her silence on Friday through her rep. Whether she was involved in any domestic dispute has not been confirmed.
"This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time," her rep told People.
According to 'TMZ,' who first broke the story, Chigvintsev, 42, was booked into Napa County Jail Thursday for felony domestic violence.
The circumstances surrounding what led up to Chigvintsev's arrest are currently unclear, but Garcia posted online she was also in Napa on her Instagram Story.
His bail was posted at $25,000, per 'Page Six.'
Chigvintsev was released on a $25,000 bail after his arrest. He was charged with felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.
