Daria, 25, lives apart from 76-year-old husband
Their relationship remains a guest marriage, with separate apartments and shared family responsibilities.
In March, an episode of the show «Status: Unequal Marriage» aired that the whole of Bashkortostan discussed. The heroine was Daria, then 24: she fell in love with a man 51 years her senior. They married and had two children, but because 72‑year‑old Oleg did not want to raise them, they left their sons with Daria’s mother and went to Moscow, which did not exactly delight the newly minted grandmother. Daria is from Kumertau (Bashkortostan, Russia).
Half a year after the show’s release, Oleg and Daria are in a guest marriage, and she admitted that her husband only recently began taking part in raising their son. Here is what else has changed in the unconventional couple’s life.
Their age difference amounts to 51 years between Daria and Oleg.
Oleg and Daria met in Moscow in 2019 — they exchanged phone numbers at a shopping mall, with the man taking the initiative. When Daria next came to Moscow, he suggested they move in together.
«On 10 February 2020 we had our second meeting, and we immediately started living together,» she wrote on her Telegram channel.
At first, she did not know his age. Only later did the older man admit he was born in 1948. That did not bother her. Daria already had experience dating an older man: when she was 17, she dated a 39‑year‑old, but broke up with him on suspicion that he was cheating.
«I asked him to show his passport, and there it really said 1948. But I had already fallen in love with the person, so I said: “In principle, that’s even better,”» Daria admitted. — «Oleg won me over by being immediately ready to take financial responsibility for me. I saw in him support, a foundation of stability.»
A video caption stated Oleg felt at his best at seventy‑six years old.
A photo shows Oleg as a young man, long before the relationship began.
After six months of living together, Daria found out she was expecting a baby. The show participant said on her blog that she became pregnant only after officially registering the marriage.
«I was outraged — how is that possible at 70? What kind of family can that be, what is it for?» Daria’s mother Irina protested.
It turned out Oleg was not ready to raise the firstborn himself. The family moved to Kumertau, where Daria’s mother helped with the child. The pensioner bought a three‑room apartment, opened an account with one million rubles ($10,500 at current rates), and went back to Moscow. Daria flew to her beloved once a month.
While on maternity leave, she tried to earn money by investing three million rubles ($31,600 at current rates) in stocks, but lost the money. After that she went to Moscow to work, leaving her son with her mother. In the capital, the blogger held in‑person consultations on esotericism.
Oleg’s age did not deter Daria, who valued his reliability and support.
A couple of years later, the young woman had a second child. The baby lived with the parents for two months and was then taken to the grandmother in Kumertau. Oleg was hospitalized with a heart attack, so Daria devoted all her attention to him.
After the show, according to Daria, viewers were left with the impression that the couple had dumped the children on Irina. She says the editors embellished their problems, but the family has no complaints. Daria herself stated that for the first four years of her first son’s life, Oleg did not participate in his upbringing.
«My husband really rarely came to Bashkortostan because of heart problems — he has survived three heart attacks. I lived with the children in Kumertau,» she said on her blog. — «Even if I went to Moscow to my husband and for work, my mother voluntarily stayed with the children; she has a notarized power of attorney from me stating that I entrust her to be with the children and that she represents them during my 7–10‑day trips.»
Oleg is seen spending time outdoors with his son during a stroll.
Six months after the broadcast, Daria moved the family to Moscow and arranged residency registrations (propiska) for everyone, and also took her relatives to the seaside. She enrolled for a second university degree and completed two training programs at 150,000 rubles ($1,600 at current rates) each, and also bought another, cheaper one — for 50,000 rubles ($526 at current rates).
In addition, the blogger registered as an individual entrepreneur (IP — sole proprietor) to sell goods on marketplaces. Daria says her mother — who has been divorced from her father for 10 years and receives no alimony — does not work; since 2021 Daria has fully supported her mother and sister by providing numerology consultations and reading Tarot cards.
Daria has also put on weight and now weighs 110 kilograms (243 lb). Judging by videos on social media, she is not upset about the extra weight and says her husband loves her as she is, though she still tries to eat properly. The young woman says that soon, when she turns 26, she will face different goals. The focus will shift to health and body, so she has already «begun additional preparation for a new period: healthy eating, the gym, body cleanse».
Daria frequently frames family decisions through esoteric beliefs and numerology practices.
«I’m constantly trying to slim down, but now I’ve decided to lay off myself and just enjoy life. The main thing is that my husband loves me,» the show’s heroine believes.
Although the family reunited in Moscow, Oleg and Daria do not live together but in neighboring apartments. They have a guest marriage. She lives with the children, her mother and sister, while Oleg lives alone. Daria sold the three‑room apartment in Kumertau that her husband had given her so as not to be separated from her children and spouse.
Daria believes her relationship with Oleg is karmic, prescribed by the «destiny matrix», when «two partners meet to create a family», which is why, in her opinion, she became pregnant only after officially registering the marriage.
«I didn’t think our marriage was strange or unlike everyone else’s,» the show participant wrote on her blog. — «My husband and I have esoteric channels from birth, so anything is possible even with a big age difference between partners.»
At the same time, the young woman admitted she does not know how to answer her sons in the future when they ask why she had them with a man 51 years older than her.
Daria’s followers ask her the same questions. Most do not understand her choice and leave caustic comments.
«I don’t understand such an age gap. I’m 62; I wouldn’t give him a second look. I feel sorry for you. Youth comes only once, and it flashes by.»
«Your husband has outdone Alla Pugacheva.»
«Has he completely lost his mind? A young and beautiful woman bears his children, and he didn’t even take part in raising them?»
«I feel sick just thinking about it.»
«I’ll never understand this. It’s unpleasant even to look at him. And to get into bed with him and even have children. What’s the point of all this? Doesn’t youth want to be with youth? With a peer. One generation. Honestly, it’s some kind of sickness.»
Online criticism appears to bother Daria little, judging by her social media.
However, Daria pays no attention to the barbs. Moreover, part of her audience supports her.
«That granddad is one lucky man.»
«Dasha, you did the right thing having kids — they’ll be smart and provided for.»
«Whether you’re made up or not, you’re a young and beautiful woman, and your husband looks fine; if he fathers such beautiful children, then he’s all right. Happiness to you!»
«They really used to make proper men, so the year of manufacture means nothing — what matters is being a real man.»
«Daria, I want to support you. It’s your life and your choice — you’re gorgeous. I admire your courage and inner strength to follow your choice and opinion despite the hate. People connect through souls, levels of intellect, bodily attraction — that very chemistry — while others are limited by stereotypes.»
Daria deliberately appears on various shows. For example, she took part in episodes of the programs «DNA» and «Beyond the Edge». Allegedly, Oleg was not sure the children were his.
There is a couple similar to Daria and Oleg in Bashkortostan. Fifty‑five‑year‑old singer of the Tatar‑Bashkir pop scene Rinat Rakhmatullin is married to 26‑year‑old Dinara. The young woman even visited him for dates in a penal colony and insisted she would help him fill concert halls after his release from prison.
