The former wife of the oligarch Roman Abramovich has revealed for the first time the shadow of insecurity and violence that hung over her 16-year marriage to Russia's second richest man.
"My life with Roman was by no means the fairytale the newspapers spoke of," Irina Abramovich told
the Russian edition of OK! magazine.
The 41-year-old, who has five children, met Abramovich while working as an Aeroflot stewardess after the fall of the Soviet Union. She said her life was complicated by the constant presence of bodyguards hired to protect the wealthy family from kidnappers.
"For my security and, most importantly, the security of our children, he hired a whole group of employees from a bodyguard agency," she told the magazine.
"We changed our mobile phone numbers once a week, so no one could figure out my location," she said.
Abramovich was divorced from the 42-year-old Chelsea owner after reports of his dalliance with Daria Zhukova who is 15 years his junior.
In her first public statements since the divorce, Irina Abramovich hinted that the stringent security measures put a strain on the couple's marriage.
"He and I understood that we couldn't hide our kids away and not show them life," she said.
"That's why we went to the theatre and museums with a crowd of bodyguards. My husband took this calmly, but for me, it got harder every year."
This year, Forbes ranked Abramovich as the second richest man in Russia and the 15th richest in the world, with a £15 billion ($40 billion) fortune.
Press-shy and secretive, the football mogul never released details of his divorce from Irina, but reports put her settlement at between £150 million and £3.9 billion, including homes in England.
Sounding neither angry nor bitter, his former wife praised him for taking care of their children.
"I grew up without a father, and that's why for me it was especially important that my own kids never be in need of anything," she said.
"Roman always promised me that that's the way it would be. And even today, after the divorce, he is fulfilling his promise."
- INDEPENDENT
