Yekaterinburg model overcomes adversity, wins 'The Bachelor' after divorce
This article chronicles the life and career of model Yana Sapeta from Yekaterinburg.
31-year-old model Yana Sapeta from Yekaterinburg became famous thanks to her participation in the romantic TV show «The Bachelor». She was born and raised in the capital of the Urals, and later moved to Moscow.
The model was married for six years to a former player of FC Ural. According to her, during the marriage she suffered from emotional and physical exhaustion. To put herself back together, the Yekaterinburg native went to find love on a popular television project. The story of Yana Sapeta is told by E1.RU journalist Darya Kostomina.
«Even though I was a straight-A student, no one liked me»
Yana Korzhavina (maiden name) was born in Yekaterinburg in 1993. She herself is from a small village in Sverdlovsk Oblast. She had no father; the girl was raised by her mother and grandmother.
During her upbringing, Yana was cared for by her mother and grandmother in the absence of her father.
Already at age 14, Yana had to work part-time to help her family — for some time she worked as a regular promoter. At the same age, she entered college and moved to Yekaterinburg.
«Until a certain point, I didn»t even realize that I had a beautiful appearance. I didn«t perceive myself positively at all, and my surroundings treated me accordingly. School was the most difficult period; even though I was a straight-A student, no one liked me. At some point, I started keeping a gratitude journal, where I constantly wrote down how I saw myself and who I wanted to become,» Yana shared in her blog.
At age 14, Yana moved to Yekaterinburg to attend college and start working part-time.
At age 17, Yana first participated in the beauty contest «Miss Yekaterinburg». At that time, she was involved in dancing and modeled for an advertisement for a lingerie salon. The victory that year was won by another popular model — Sofia Nikitchuk.
«They drove us hard there. In terms of training, it was very tough — they made us walk with books on our heads. They would come up to you and press on your back to form a muscle corset. At the contest, the preparation was different; punishments were only for not attending these sessions and trying to slack off. For that, you could be eliminated from the contest,» the model said in an interview with the YouTube channel «Championat Lifestyle».
Yana took part in the Miss Yekaterinburg beauty pageant when she was 17 years old.
Yana Sapeta is pictured with other contestants from the Miss Yekaterinburg competition.
At age 18, Yana entered the Ural State Institute of Economics to become an accountant. At the same time, she worked part-time at one of Yekaterinburg«s prestigious restaurants.
Early in her career, Yana worked at a restaurant in Yekaterinburg to support herself.
Yana pursued her education in economics while living in Yekaterinburg before moving to Moscow.
«Once, from a regular customer, I heard the phrase: »Yana, I see you here every day. Aren«t you tired? You know, to afford a lot in life, you don»t necessarily have to work hard.« That day, I racked my brains. How then? At that time, I would come home, my heels aching from pain, I worked every day, almost without days off from 11 a.m. to 3–4 a.m. And the result was: paying for the apartment, cheap groceries and clothes,» Yana Sapeta shared.
After relocating to Moscow, Yana trained to become a television presenter in addition to modeling.
In the end, the girl did not work in her profession but decided to go into the modeling business. After moving to Moscow, she also trained to become a TV presenter. Yana actively developed her career — she was an in-demand model and worked on a music channel.
«I lived for four years in an illusion of happiness and two years in hell»
Yana and Alexander Sapeta enjoyed traveling together, as seen in this photo from Miami.
In 2013 in Yekaterinburg, Yana met midfielder Alexander Sapeta after one of FC Ural«s matches. The romance developed rapidly, and soon the footballer proposed to the girl.
During their marriage, Yana gave birth to a daughter named Mia with her husband Alexander.
On Yana«s birthday, Alexander reserved a table at the Ostankino Tower, where he proposed to her. Some time later, the model gave birth to a daughter, Mia, for her husband. The athlete showered the girl with expensive gifts.
The birth of their child did not prevent the eventual breakdown of Yana«s marriage.
Soon after the baby«s birth, the marriage cracked. In 2021, after six years, the family fell apart. For a long time, the Yekaterinburg native did not talk about the reasons for the discord.
Much later, Yana admitted that her husband cheated on her, and once even threw her out the door with the child. According to her, the ex-husband was already dating another girl at that time, while using her car.
The couple divorced after Yana discovered her husband«s infidelity during their relationship.
«I lived for four years in an illusion of happiness and two years in hell… I was thrown out of the shared apartment, just like that, but now with a child, doors were broken down, personal items and money were stolen… And no one provides for the child to this day. My ex-husband was also a footballer — he played for Dynamo and other clubs. For three years, I dealt with the consequences of my illusion… Now I think: I shouldn»t have kept quiet then. When I came to the «The Bachelor» project, I was just putting myself back together piece by piece,« the model said.
Victory in «The Bachelor»
In spring 2022, the model participated in the ninth season of the popular show «The Bachelor» on TNT. The filming took place in Mexico, and its main characters were 27-year-old Alexander Grankov, who runs a farm and stable in the Moscow region, and 29-year-old blogger Dimash Adilet — heir to one of the wealthiest families in Kazakhstan.
Yana won the heart of the bachelor on the TNT reality show «The Bachelor».
The model was not afraid that having a child would push the suitor away, and immediately told Grankov that she was raising her daughter alone. In the final, Alexander chose her.
«It»s hard for people to imagine that a girl with a child can be happy, whole, earn money, and afford the best in life. A stereotype was broken. The only advice is to live from your own experience, don«t set limits for yourself. In that case, everything will always work out in your favor,» Yana Sapeta shared in an interview with E1.RU.
Following her victory on the show, Yana«s popularity significantly increased on social media.
However, this relationship did not last long either, and the couple broke up. According to Grankov, their paths simply diverged.
«Since I was 17–18, I wasn»t satisfied with my breasts«
After the project, Yana gained an army of fans. Now on one of the social networks, she has over 120,000 followers. Many of them regularly ask how the model manages to take care of her figure.
«When I had a child, for the first four months I stayed with my daughter day and night. When you have such an unstable life schedule, when you don»t sleep at night, when you need to constantly walk with the child, those extra kilograms go away on their own. But consequences remain: stretched skin on the stomach, legs may not be in the shape you«d like, you can»t expect a good six-pack right away. I immediately set a goal for myself: I want abs,« the Yekaterinburg native shared with the publication »Vokrug.TV«.
Yana maintains her physique through regular exercise and a disciplined diet regimen.
The model admits that the secret to her toned body is regular workouts and proper nutrition:
«I revised my diet. It became simpler, without any sauces — vegetables, fish, chicken, meat. I don»t like sweets, I don«t consume sugar at all. I cut out dairy long ago. When you just eliminate sugar, you»ll notice how two or three kilograms quietly disappear. I actively got myself in shape for a year.«
The model engages in frequent workouts to stay in shape and promote fitness.
Also, Yana has admitted more than once that she resorted to plastic surgery. She had breast augmentation at age 22.
«I don»t hide that since I was 17–18, I wasn«t satisfied with my breasts. I don»t see anything special in it: if I don«t like something — I go and do it. I didn»t do anything vulgar, everything is done aesthetically correctly. I«m for such stories. If, for example, you have an ugly nose, but all facial features are proportional, you need to go and fix the nose,» the model explained.
Yana has been open about undergoing breast augmentation surgery when she was younger.
Now Yana actively participates in photoshoots, develops her blog, and works as a fashion influencer. She often posts photos from travels that she goes on with her daughter.
Yana frequently collaborates with brands and participates in various fashion and media projects.
In 2024, the Yekaterinburg native went to Fashion Week in Italy and managed to drop by the concert of popular rapper Kanye West.
All information about world and Russian stars who were born and raised in Sverdlovsk Oblast we collect in this section. There, for example, are the stories of Vyacheslav Butusov, Niletto, and Ksenia Korneva from «Ural Pelmeni».
* The social network is banned in the territory of the Russian Federation.
