Nikki Garcia is back at work days after her husband Artem Chigvintsev was arrested on charges of domestic violence in California’s Napa County.
The former professional wrestler, who used to be known professional as Nikki Bella, had been scheduled to host the Netflix live hot dog eating contest special on Labor Day called Unfinished Beef. Along with co-host Rob Riggle, she covered the impressive (and kind of gross, TBH) hot dog eating feat that went down between American champion eater Joey Chestnut and Japanese super-eater Takeru Kobayashi. And host it, she did! With one GLARING omission!
Related: Nikki & Artem’s Marriage Has Been ‘Volatile’ For Years Before His DV Arrest, Say Friends
The special kicked off with the 40-year-old former WWE superstar and her 54-year-old co-host opening up the show in a stand-up intro on stage. And in front of a live streaming and in-studio audience, after Riggle gave Nikki a huge and very warm introduction, the crowd erupted while Nikki said this:
“Thank you everyone, I’m so happy to be here!”
She was all smiles in her first public appearance since Chigvintsev’s arrest on Thursday morning in Napa, California. And she was greeted with a HUGE response from fans when the special began! In fact, out in the audience, one fan yelled this at her before she could even start to speak:
“Love you, Nikki!!!”
Still beaming at the response, and carrying on as well as she could through it, Garcia shouted back:
“I love you too!”
But here is the really interesting part… or maybe the expected part, as it were… she was NOT wearing her wedding ring to film the special! Ch-ch-check it out for yourself (below) to confirm that indeed, it appears as though her left hand is totally without any jewelry adorning it:
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 ????????❤️ pic.twitter.com/8HXgywgfaZ
— Stephanie Hypes (@StephanieHypes) September 2, 2024
Wow!
Obviously, having no wedding ring on is a pretty notable omission at this point, just four days after her 42-year-old husband was arrested on a charge of corporal injury to a spouse up in NorCal. As you’ll recall, just a couple days ago, we spotted Nikki out and about — presumably traveling to Vegas in order to film this Netflix special — without her wedding ring on then, either. So, this would seem to be the new normal for her at this point.
Nikki hasn’t specifically spoken out publicly about the incident yet, though. Her rep previously told People that the star was asking “for privacy” regarding that “private matter” and wouldn’t be commenting about it. We continue to wish her the best amid this very difficult and fast-developing situation — especially as she continues to work on camera under the glare of the public eye.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
