"It's not true that I choose wealthy men." Nadezhda Obolentseva spoke about her four marriages, motherhood at 41, and the reasons for her divorce from Rezo Gigineishvili.
Nadezhda Obolentseva gave an interview to stylist Aleko for his channel, Alekó, in which she discussed her four marriages, the reasons for her divorce from Rezo Gigineishvili, and the birth of her first child at 41. Spletnik has compiled the key quotes.
"It's not true that I choose wealthy men."
I responded to some attack that I choose wealthy men. But that's not true. Rezo and I had a lot in common at one point in our lives. And he's a very accomplished and talented person. Our different lifestyles [led to the divorce]. The lifestyle of the film industry crowd is unacceptable to me. Because I don't drink, and I don't smoke now. I tried to fit in because it was a crisis for me—the divorce [from my second husband]. We were going out, having fun—and that's where we clashed. Then I realized I wasn't interested in it, and I felt physically ill.
Obolentseva married director Rezo Gigineishvili in the summer of 2019, her third marriage. However, news of their divorce broke in 2020. Then, online speculation began that he couldn't handle his wife's financial needs (especially since Nadezhda's first two husbands were wealthy businessmen—she lived with her first, entrepreneur Denis Mikhailov, in Los Angeles, and her second, Airat Iskhakov, was a top manager at an oil and gas company).
"I didn't do anything specifically to attract men."
(to the remark that all the men around her were successful): I never did anything specifically [to attract men].
"I think all babies are perfect."
Perfect. I think all babies are perfect. Motherhood is the happiest time in my life. For a woman, it's a great joy, and it's very pleasant. I became a mother at a conscious age, and I enjoy it.
In early 2025, Nadezhda Obolentseva married for the fourth time. Her husband was billionaire and artist Evgeny Shvidler. It was soon announced that the couple had a son, Mark.
"I'm grateful to Svetlana Bondarchuk, but I have a different picture."
I'm grateful to her (Svetlana Bondarchuk – Ed.) for the period when we were friends and had fun, but I have a completely different picture and perspective. You need to be able to let go not only of your husbands, but of your friends as well.
For a time, Bondarchuk and Obolentseva were considered best friends in Moscow's social scene. In 2018, they co-founded a yoga and Pilates studio, but two years later, Obolentseva and Bondarchuk split the business, sparking rumors that the friends had fallen out.
"They say I'm completely remade."
I'm afraid of surgeries, and God willing, I'll be able to hold out [for a while longer without them]. When people say I've been completely remade, it's because I went to [a massage therapist] who significantly changed the shape of my face.
"I haven't worried about what people think of me for a long time."
We must be responsible for what we say. I don't really understand why anonymity is necessary online—even what happened on Spletnik, our first pre-Telegram era. I haven't worried about what people think of me for a long time now. A person who feeds on negativity can't live a good life.
Nadezhda Obolentseva was the first society editor for the Russian edition of Tatler. Together with Irina Kudrina, she founded the intellectual community of like-minded individuals "Club 418" in Moscow, which later opened a branch in St. Petersburg. The club closed in 2021. She now lives primarily abroad.
Photo: "Alekó"/VKontaktenadineobolentseva/Instagram**