Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wins wife’s support with help of VHS copy of erotic thriller instinct, According to a new biography.
The couple met at high school in their hometown of Kryvyi Rih in southeastern Ukraine, but they only started dating in college.
Their courtship began when the comedian-turned-president approached his future wife, Olena Zelenska, with a copy of a 1990s Hollywood blockbuster.
Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska
(Volodymyrzelensky/Reuters)
in his book ‘Zelensky’, writer and journalist Steven Dricks wrote that Mr. Zelensky asked him if he could borrow a Sharon Stone film. When he was said to have seen the pornographic film “at least 15 times” before, he pretended not to.
But the request gave him a window to ask for her phone number, starting a decades-long relationship and, most recently, the deadly Russian invasion of their country.
The couple will be the cover stars of the magazine’s October issue. Fashionthe move has drawn some criticism from American conservatives.
inside Fashion In the interview, Ms. Zelenska pondered the initial connection they formed, concluding that humor created “mutual chemistry.”
“My jokes don’t always go well with her,” the president echoed. “She’s a very good editor.”
While Mr Zelensky paid more attention to her “eyes and lips” when they first met, it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with Olena when the two started talking.
“That’s when you cross the distance from liking to loving,” he said. “That’s what happened to me.”
The two married in 2003 and welcomed daughter Oleksandra a year later.
The couple met at high school in their hometown of Kryvyi Rih
(Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved)
In 2013, Ukraine’s first lady gave birth to their second child, son Kerilo.
Like many Ukrainian families, the president has been separated from his children since the outbreak of the Ukrainian war in February.
Ms Zelenska has been able to see her children, but admits the separation from their father has also been difficult for Oleksandra and Kyrylo.
“If we were separated, I don’t even know how I would have survived these months,” she said of her children. “[Zelensky] Life is much tougher on this front. He suffers. Then my kids do the same because they can’t see each other. “
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has so far gone on for five and a half months, killing thousands, and showing no clear end to it.
In an interview with Piers Morgan talk tv, Ms Zelenska said she hoped the challenges of the war would further “unite” the couple.
“I agree with the theory that marriages get stronger with challenges,” she explained.
“We’re getting more and more interested in each other. I think in our case, it’s going to be the same story…I hope this challenge will bring us closer together.”
A version of the interview with Olena Zelenska will appear in Vogue’s October issue. “Zelensky” by Steven Derix is available from Canbury Press.
