Last week it was Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, and now Vladimir Putin and wife of 30 years Lyudmila are “uncoupling.”
The Kremlin has confirmed that the couple’s divorce has been finalized after they announced last June that they had separated.
This was no surprise to well-connected Russians, who have been whispering about Putin’s lengthy affair with former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, a torchbearer at the Sochi Winter Games and with whom he has a son.
According to a source close to the Kremlin, the announcement was carefully choreographed: “Putin has been divorced since fall of last year, but did not want to reveal this to the general public while the Olympics were looming on the horizon. Then of course came his ‘Game of Thrones’ with Ukraine.
Now that his popularity at home is at 80 percent approval, the Kremlin decided it was an appropriate time to reveal his divorce to the conservative Russian populace.”
As for Kabaeva, the source added, society speculation is that she might never have a public role in his life.