Nikki Garcia Back At Work Hosting ‘Unfinished Beef’ For Netflix After Husband Artem Chigvintsev Arrested In Domestic Violence Incident

The Deadline Team
·1 min read
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Three days after her husband Artem Chigvintsev was arrested in Northern California and taken into custody after a domestic violence incident, Nikki Garcia showed up live on Netflix today to host Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef alongside Rob Riggle.

The special that was shot in Las Vegas was a hot dog-eating contest between the two competitive-eating rivals Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. An audience member yelled “I love you” to Garcia, who was introduced by Riggle as “an accomplished athlete herself, a WWE Hall of Famer.”

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Wearing an all-red ensemble but no wedding ring, Garcia kicked off the special by saying she was “happy to be here.”

Chigvintsev was booked Thursday in Napa County on California penal code 273.5(a), which makes it illegal to injure a spouse, cohabitant or fellow parent in an act of domestic violence. His bail was set at $25,000, according to jail records. No other information was provided on the incident.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office told TMZ the incident took place in Yountville, CA just before 10 a.m., when deputies responded to a domestic violence call. An arrest was made at the scene, and injuries were reportedly involved.

Garcia’s rep told People that “this is a private matter and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time.” The couple celebrated their second anniversary on Aug. 26.

On Unfinished Beef, Garcia endorsed Kobayashi before the men began the competition that Riggle said Netflix prepared for by preparing “300 hot dogs.” Chestnut ended up triumphing after eating 83 dogs versus Kobayashi’s mere 67.

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