Artem even offered to quit DWTS, but when Nikki said she didn’t want that, he decided to travel to Napa to have a sit-down conversation.
There, Nikki finally opened up.
“I think it’s hard for men to truly understand postpartum,” she began. “Our body goes through so many changes inside and out and the battle we face mentally as moms—as a new mom—figuring that out…I’ll be honest, I started to just feel super invisible. Especially when, like, obviously my body—I have to look at myself naked in the mirror. It’s hard.”
Nikki continued, “And I have to watch you on TV and see stuff on social media, and it seems like you seem so happy. It kind of f–ks with your head a bit, like, ‘Oh nothing I could do could make that person feel that way, so maybe I don’t make Artem happy.’ Maybe this isn’t the right relationship. Maybe he’s meant to be with someone else. Then I also became super lonely. I just fell and have fallen into a super dark place.”