"She asked for a DNA test." The "Univer" star's wife and his ex-lover shared their versions of the scandal surrounding the actor's 14-year-old illegitimate son.
Channel One aired the program "Let Them Talk," dedicated to the scandalous story of Ararat Keshchyan, the star of the TV series "Univer," who recently discovered he had a 14-year-old illegitimate son. Ekaterina Keshchyan, the actor's wife, spoke publicly on the matter for the first time: on the program, Ekaterina stated that she had insisted on a DNA test when Elvira Kretova, the mother of Keshchyan's 14-year-old son, Eldar, approached her. Kretova, who was present in the studio, shared new details about the story she had previously published on social media.
"In 2013, Elvira found me through a third party, contacting my sister. We had a long phone conversation. She told me some unpleasant things about Ararat. I have a young family, I just got married, and I wanted to protect my husband. Who knows what happened before. But based on certain facts, I realized she was telling the truth, so I asked for a DNA test. I was the one who initiated it," Keshchyan admitted (she wasn't physically present in the studio; her voice was recorded).
According to her, her husband didn't object to the DNA test. The relationship was confirmed in 2013. Ekaterina assures that once everyone realized Ararat had a son, no one was going to give him up.
"When I asked her what she wanted, Elvira replied, 'I don't want anything, I've never wanted anything, I just wanted him to know.' To be honest, I wasn't involved in their interactions; I didn't know what conversations took place between my husband and Elvira. After a while, she said she needed help. Ararat helped, sending money—this happened systematically," the actor's wife added.
Kretova, in turn, stated on the program: "He wasn't married, a single man. I gave birth on June 6, 2012, and he got married in January 2013. Ararat simply didn't tell anyone that in 2011 he had me, Ekaterina, and Zhenya Sviridova from St. Petersburg. There were many women."
The situation surrounding 47-year-old Ararat Keshchyan's illegitimate son became public in early April 2026, when Elvira Kretova began publishing details from 14 years ago on social media. According to her, the actor hid the boy's existence, wasn't involved in his upbringing, and failed to pay child support for a long time. The first meeting between father and son took place only in 2022 and was traumatic for the child: Keshchyan showed up unannounced to Eldar's football match, walked out onto the field after the game, and asked, "Do you know who I am?" According to Kretova, this spontaneous meeting occurred after the actor went to an ultrasound with his pregnant wife and learned they were having another girl. Supposedly upset, he wanted to see his son.
According to Elvira's version of events, she met Keshchyan in 2009 in Sochi (when he was married to his first wife), and their relationship lasted for several years. When she learned she was pregnant in 2011, the actor, she claims, "simply disappeared." She raised the child alone, returning to Voronezh.
During the child support proceedings, Keshchyan cited his unstable income, and the court ultimately ordered payments of 16,000 rubles per month—the subsistence minimum in Voronezh, where Kretova and her son currently live. This decision displeased the woman and she continued the lawsuit. After Kretova's posts, the actor sent her a threatening message: "Now it's my turn. I think we'll start by taking Eldar with me. By court order, of course. Eldar will be with me. In a year, two, three—it doesn't matter. The boy will be with his father. It's inevitable."
Ararat Keshchyan has been married twice. His first marriage to Irina lasted from 2007 to 2010. He married Ekaterina for the second time in 2013, and the couple now have three daughters: Eva, Diana, and Ani.
Photo: elica_beluchi, azor_den, katyakeshchyan/Instagram*frame from the program "Let Them Talk"/"Channel One"*