The war in Ukraine has brought President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska closer, making their love and marriage stronger despite long periods of separation due to the president’s official duties. In a series of interviews to fashion magazine Vogue and British journalist Piers Morgan, the couple have opened up about their love in the time of war and strife in their country.
The 44-year-old Zelenskyy said the war has only made his marriage stronger, according to a report by The Telegraph. He and wife Olena have often been separated due to the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia since February 24.
Initially, Olena and the couple’s two children – 18-year-old daughter Oleksandra and nine-year-old son Kyrylo – remained hidden as a safety protocol, but the president’s wife has been more publicly visible advocating her country’s war effort against Russia’s might.
The interviews were recorded when Olena visited her husband in the heavily fortified presidential palace. In an interview to Vogue, Zelenskyy described Olena as his “best friend” whom he met 26 years ago when they were still in high school.
“Of course she is my love. But she is my greatest friend,” he was quoted as saying, adding, “Olena really is my best friend. She is also a patriot and she deeply loves Ukraine.”
In another interview with Morgan, Zelenskyy is found contemplating his marriage and enduring relationship with Olena.
He is seen directly addressing his wife, saying: “When you are talking, your opinion has priority. What I would say is I don’t have any other experience. I’ve got only one wife and I am happy. I have one wife, one love and one family. I never got any feeling there was anything wrong with us in or in our relationship. Or maybe do you feel unhappy with me sometimes?”
But, he adds: “The war is making our relationship stronger, that’s for sure.”
To this, Olena replies: “We are managing?” “Yes, but managing is not the right word. We are in love with each other,” Zelenskyy replies.
In the interviews, Olena also revealed that Zelenskyy had been unable to see their two children since the beginning of the war, over five months ago, due to safety concerns. Both the children have been sent away to an undisclosed location.
To Vogue, Olena is quoted as saying, “He’s having a much harder time in this regard. He suffers. And then my kids do, too, because they can’t see each other.”
Early in May, Olena, too, came out of hiding to take a more active role in the war effort and as a public figure being the president’s wife. She has since visited dignitaries, attended public events and given interviews as a morale-booster for the war-torn country.
(Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and wife Olena Zelenska attend the funeral ceremony of the first president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, in Kyiv, on May 17. Image: REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi)
Zelenskyy said Olena had just returned from Washington DC, where she put a plea before the US Congress to give more weapons to Ukraine.
“Probably she is stronger than she thought she was,” Zelensky was quoted as saying about his wife, adding, “and this war – well, any war is probably bound to bring out qualities you never expected to have.”
In the Vogue interview, Zelenskyy has mentioned how he is “worried sick” about his family. “I’ve been missing them, I’ve wanted to hug them so much. I’ve wanted to be able to touch them,” he is quoted as saying.
In a more light-hearted conversation with Morgan, the comedian-turned-politician revealed that wife Olena had no idea that he will be running for president. She said she only found out when Zelenskyy made the announcement to run for president of Ukraine during a New Year’s address in 2018.
(Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy kisses his wife Olena following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at their campaign headquarters in Kyiv on April 21, 2019. Image: REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko)
Zelenskyy is seen laughing at the revelation and says he “had not laughed so hard at anything else for a while”. But, he soon, went on to apologise to his wife. Olena is quoted as saying, “He was just looking for the right moment to tell me, which never came because he knew I would have issues with it and he would have to negotiate hard. But, I was quite shocked when he made the announcement.”
To this, Zelenskyy says, “It was a very tough decision for me as I knew my family was not ready to let go of me. I wanted to tell her (Olena), but I just never found the right moment.”
Zelenskyy, however, said he was not looking for a romance and did not want to put his family in any danger. At the end of the day, he said, it was about the war that was happening all around them on a daily basis. “It’s more about horrors happening here in Kyiv’s outskirts and all those horrors happening now in our country, in occupied territories,” he is quoted as saying during his interview with Morgan.
The couple, who have sent the internet into a frenzy with their appearance on the cover of Vogue, said their son Kyrylo wanted to be a soldier while their daughter Oleksandra was preparing for university. He said his son was “ready to protect his mother and his family” and that he would support him.
The president is quoted as saying, “As a father, I would be proud if my son became a soldier, I can provide the support for him.”
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