Lea Thompson Says Artem Chigvintsev Would Get 'So Mad' At Her During Dancing With the Stars
Lea Thompson is looking back on her rocky partnership with Artem Chigvintsev on Dancing With the Stars. The Back to the Future actress and Chigvintsev were partnered during season 19 of the ABC reality series in 2014. "It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him," Thompson said while appearing on the Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast Monday. "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 pair placed sixth in the competition, with future host Alfonso Ribeiro and pro Witney Carson taking home the Mirrorball Trophy that season. Thompson and Chigvinstev not only struggled to find their rhythm on the dancefloor but off it too, with the 63-year-old actress sharing that the pair often clashed over 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 podcast 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 asked when Thompson and Chigvintsev's partnership left the "honeymoon phase," the actress said she couldn't remember the exact time. "I remember once, he was really mad at me because I was counting crazy," Thompson shared. "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,'" she 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 said she cheered on the former WWE pro and was surprised to see her show off her strength on the dance floor after the kind of comments she experienced from Chigvintsev when they were partnered up. "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 also claimed that Chigvintsev has unfollowed her on social media following their time on DWTS. But despite their differences, she said she was taken aback by Chigvintsev's recent arrest. "He has a cat, what can I say!" Thompson quipped. "Or, he had a cat ... I don't know what happened." Chigvintsev, who wed Garcia in 2022, was arrested on domestic violence charges late last month. According to TMZ, he was taken into Napa County, California, police custody on August 29 and was released hours later after posting $25,000 bail. Chigvintsev 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 County D.A. Spokesperson Carlos Villatoro tells the outlet that their office is currently reviewing the case, and no decision has been made yet on charges the pro dancer may face. Chigvintsev's arraignment is currently scheduled for November 4. Garcia, meanwhile, who shares 4-year-old son Matteo with Chigvintsev, has yet to break her silence on the incident, with a rep for the sports and reality star telling TMZ, "This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time." If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.
Moderated by Tomas Kauer 
"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," Thompson said.
Lea Thompson is looking back on her rocky partnership with Artem Chigvintsev on Dancing With the Stars.
The Back to the Future actress and Chigvintsev were partnered during season 19 of the ABC reality series in 2014.
"It was hard working with him because it was his first year and it was a big deal to him," Thompson said while appearing on the Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast Monday. "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 pair placed sixth in the competition, with future host Alfonso Ribeiro and pro Witney Carson taking home the Mirrorball Trophy that season.
Thompson and Chigvinstev not only struggled to find their rhythm on the dancefloor but off it too, with the 63-year-old actress sharing that the pair often clashed over 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 podcast 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 asked when Thompson and Chigvintsev's partnership left the "honeymoon phase," the actress said she couldn't remember the exact time.
"I remember once, he was really mad at me because I was counting crazy," Thompson shared. "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,'" she 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 said she cheered on the former WWE pro and was surprised to see her show off her strength on the dance floor after the kind of comments she experienced from Chigvintsev when they were partnered up.
"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 also claimed that Chigvintsev has unfollowed her on social media following their time on DWTS. But despite their differences, she said she was taken aback by Chigvintsev's recent arrest.
"He has a cat, what can I say!" Thompson quipped. "Or, he had a cat ... I don't know what happened."
Chigvintsev, who wed Garcia in 2022, was arrested on domestic violence charges late last month. According to TMZ, he was taken into Napa County, California, police custody on August 29 and was released hours later after posting $25,000 bail.
Chigvintsev 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 County D.A. Spokesperson Carlos Villatoro tells the outlet that their office is currently reviewing the case, and no decision has been made yet on charges the pro dancer may face.
Chigvintsev's arraignment is currently scheduled for November 4.
Garcia, meanwhile, who shares 4-year-old son Matteo with Chigvintsev, has yet to break her silence on the incident, with a rep for the sports and reality star telling TMZ, "This is a private matter, and Nikki asks for privacy for her and her family at this time."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.
