Lea Thompson recalled her rocky partnership with pro Artem Chigvintsev on Dancing With the Stars a decade ago.
“It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him,” Thompson, 63, said on the Monday, September 9, episode of the “Sex, Lies and Spray Tans” podcast. “He was so intense. It was so much more important to him than to me, honestly. And so that made me really nervous, made me crazy after a while.”
The Back to the Future actress and Chigvintsev, now 42, were partnered during season 19 of the ABC reality series in 2014. After they placed in sixth, future host Alfonso Ribeiro and pro Witney Carson took home the Mirrorball Trophy.
During her time on the series, Thompson alleged that she and Chigvintsev struggled with their creative differences.
“It was also really really hard for me because I was a ballet dancer and a modern dancer. First day, he was like, ‘I’ve never taken any of that stuff, I’ve only taken ballroom,’” Thompson told host and former DWTS pro Cheryl Burke. “All this stuff that I knew, he knew none of that. I was never allowed to say, ‘Can I try this?’ He would get so mad at me.”
Thompson called Chigvintsev “so implacable,” adding, “That was hard because you’re supposed to also kind of love them.”
When Burke asked when Thompson and Chigvintsev’s partnership left the “honeymoon phase,” the actress said she couldn’t remember an exact time.
“I remember once, he was really mad at me because I was counting crazy,” Thompson said. “He was like, ‘Why are you counting like that?’ I was like, ‘I’m sorry.’ I was like, ‘My mind works a different way.’”
Thompson also recalled “one really crazy thing” he told her that she couldn’t “believe.”
“I remember him telling me that men are much better than women. And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because they’re stronger,’” Thompson said. “And I was like, ‘But they don’t have babies. I’ve had a baby.”
While watching Chigvintsev compete during season 25 in 2017 with now-wife Nikki Garcia, Thompson recalled cheering on the retired wrestler. (Chigvintsev and Garcia finished in seventh place.)
“I saw when they were doing their dance that she flipped him over and threw him on the ground. I was like, ‘Go!’” Thompson said. “You know, she did a wrestling move. You’re letting her show that she’s as strong as you. So I thought that was kinda cool.”
Thompson alleged that Chigvintsev has unfollowed her on social media. Despite their differences, Thompson said she was “surprised” by Chigvintsev’s recent arrest. “He has a cat, what can I say!” Thompson said. “Or, he had a cat. … I don’t know what happened.”
Chigvintsev was arrested on domestic violence charges late last month. Per online jail records viewed by Us Weekly, he was taken into Napa County, California, police custody on August 29 and was released hours later after posting $25,000 bail.
Chigvintsev, who wed Garcia in 2022, was arrested on charges under section 273.5(a) of the California Penal Code, pertaining to a person who has injured a spouse, cohabitant or fellow parent.
Napa Valley Sheriff PIO Henry Wofford told Us that the department spoke with the victim, who “requested complete confidentiality.”
Garcia, who shares 4-year-old son Matteo with Chigvintsev, has yet to break her silence on the incident. A rep for Garcia told Us in a statement, “This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time.”
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
