The tragic events of the past two-and-a-half years would have tested any marriage: an unprecedented war, a potentially life-or-death decision on whether to flee the fighting and a close-knit family forced to live apart.
Add to that the huge responsibilities that go with being the President and First Lady of Ukraine after their country was invaded by a neighbouring power, and the marriage of Volodymyr and Olena Zelensky could easily have crumbled under the pressure.
However, the First Lady made it clear to me that this is a long way from the reality.
HOW THE WAR AFFECTED ZELENSKY’S MARRIAGE
Speaking in an exclusive interview at the office of the President in central Kyiv, Olena Zelenska (in Ukrainian, the married name often takes on a feminine ending) reveals that war has made the couple’s 20-year-marriage stronger than ever.
‘I think we are closer and more tied because we have supported each other the way in which we hoped.
‘I think I didn’t let him down, and he never lets me down,’ she said.
‘We don’t see each other as often as we would like, so every meeting is a joy. We’re never tired of each other, we never bore each other. And it makes the family stronger, too.’
LIVING APART
For the duration of the conflict, the First Lady and their two children, daughter Oleksandra, 20, and son Kyrylo, 11, have had to live apart from the President.
They are able to see each other more now than at the start of the war, but family life still has its challenges, as it does for all those living in the war-torn country.
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Ms Zelenska told me: ‘It’s not a normal life for any person to live in a country at war. It’s a constant psychological burden and pressure.
‘I hope when this pressure is relieved, with our victory, we will be able to stay sane and we’ll be fine. However, now I think that we are as close as ever emotionally.
‘And we understand each other very well. In fact, it is very important that you can respect your nearest and dearest.
‘I am sure love is not enough. And I am happy that I can respect my husband because it would have been very hard to stay with him, even given huge love, if I hadn’t believed in his honesty.’
