Women’s tennis player Maria Kirilenko released a statement earlier this week announcing that she has called off her engagement with Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin.
Was an Instagram photo one of the reasons she decided to move on?
Over the weekend, Ovechkin’s friend, Vitaly Fridzon, who is a Russian basketball player, shared a photo of Ovechkin and Russian gymnast Karolina Sevastianova sitting together in the back seat of what appeared to be a small airplane or helicopter. Fridzon later posted two more pictures that included Ovechkin and Sevastianova, though both seemed pretty innocent.
According to R-Sport in Russia, the social media photos led Kirilenko to her decision to end her relationship with Ovechkin. Kirilenko, however, says the pictures were not the reason.
Here’s what she told Sovetsky Sport in an interview:
“Believe me, over the years I have seen so many pictures of Sasha in the company of young ladies, that I have gotten used to it. That is normal. We are public figures, and people often want to take pictures with us. This is the first time I heard about this girl, and I made my decision to break up the engagement long before these pictures appeared on the social networks. It is laughable to point to them as the main reason behind the breakup – after three years together couples do not break up over a couple of pictures. There are much more significant reasons. I will not go into any more details about them. But let’s just say it is not a secret for anybody that Sasha has certain habits and particulars of behavior that I did not consider worth tolerating anymore.”
Well, it sounds like if it wasn’t specifically the pictures, than her problem may have been what the pictures portray; perhaps Ovechkin wasn’t the most faithful lover?
H/T Sports Illustrated
Photos via Instagram/Vitaly Fridzon
