Elena Kuletskaya for Woman.ru: about the imminent wedding and the annoying train of “Bilan’s ex-girlfriend”
Woman.ru: At the end of May, the premiere of the fashion show “The Ideal Couple” took place - is the problem of choosing clothes for going out so relevant for lovers?
Elena Kuletskaya: This problem is really pressing for the couple. If it’s a meeting with a guy’s friends, and a girl tries on her favorite stretched sweater and hears: “This is terrible, you’ll look like a gray mouse, and I want to be proud of you,” she may be wildly offended. All the same things can be said differently: “Darling, you feel comfortable in this, you look great, but it’s the dress that will emphasize your figure.” And through a compliment, achieve the desired result. I myself don’t like harsh criticism; I don’t immediately want to do anything or go somewhere. In our program, we try not only to teach the characters how to choose clothes, but also to remind them of romantic moments from their common past. Point out a sore point, for example, why, by always wearing sneakers, a girl can scare off her man, thereby sending him on her own to search for a new lover. We teach people to talk to each other.
Woman.ru: Watching the characters, do you associate them with yourself and your lover?
E.K.: For me and Stanislav (director of photography Stanislav Romanovsky, Elena Kuletskaya’s young man - approx. Woman.ru) such problems are no longer relevant, but we also had disagreements, quarrels, and grievances that ended in clapping doors, from the series: “That’s it, I’m not going anywhere, the mood is spoiled, since you don’t like it!” But through trial and error, we finally understood how to gently and competently communicate with each other on sensitive topics.
Woman.ru: When did you see Stas for the first time, how was he dressed?
E.K.: We met on the set, I came from home, without makeup - a clean face, clean hair, a comfortable scarf, so that during breaks between filming I could wrap myself up and keep warm. And Stas was... in jeans, a T-shirt and a jacket. He was inspecting the set as we had our first day of filming. Stas is the director of photography, his task is to “steer” all the cameras at once, so throughout the entire day he was in another pavilion in front of the monitors. That is, he saw me, but I didn’t really see him. From time to time he came up and adjusted some instruments. And even then, I remember, he attracted my attention: tall, young, handsome.
I said: “Hi, I'm Lena.” And he somehow casually replied: “Hello.” Because he was very absorbed in his affairs and focused. We didn’t have any communication on the site. At the same time, as it turned out later, he also really liked me, and through mutual friends he was looking for a way to meet. One day I went to a club with my friends, and they called Stas. And he, a man who doesn’t particularly like to party, immediately rushed over. That evening, in a cheerful, relaxed conversation, we finally met, got to know each other and danced all night. And the next day he already invited me on a date to the cinema - that’s how it all started.
Woman.ru: Is Stas not one of those men who is stopped by a girl’s fame?
E.K.: He has no fear or, on the contrary, fanatical reverence like: “I have a girl from a glossy magazine or TV!” He communicated with me absolutely normally. Plus, for his 32 years, he has already achieved a lot in his profession, he does not have the complex of an unfulfilled person. He does his job well, I'm proud of him. Where there may have been friction was with my work schedule: due to the nature of my work, I traveled a lot. First, a few days in Moscow, when we met at a party with friends, then she flew to Indonesia for 10 days to film, and then came back. We went on dates for two days. After that, I flew to Argentina to film the program, and then, after dropping by Moscow, I went to New York for two months on modeling business. This is normal for me. At some point, my work brought me to Moscow again, so Stas and I began to see each other more often, and that’s when he first told me: “Why are you flying somewhere again, we’re here, we’ll still have to take root somewhere. Decide already." And I really already wanted this - to find a home, to feel a confident and strong man next to me. And in Stas I found such a person, a leader. And I thought, why should I spread myself across several countries? I now have stable employment in Russia, which is complemented by the family comfort and support of a loved one, which is so necessary for every woman. That's when I decided to slow down.
Woman.ru: Many were surprised by your union. After a glossy romance with Dima Bilan, it seemed that Elena Kuletskaya would choose the minimum oligarch.
E.K.: I have never chosen a man based on his social status. I was raised differently. In my family, bets were never made on material or social success; education and decency were held in high esteem. If money were important to me, then in the first months of my modeling career in Paris I would quickly find myself an oligarch. There are a lot of them hanging around girls in our profession. The main thing for me is that a man does what he loves. It is important when his eyes light up. I really like it when I come to Stas on the set and see that he is a leader, how they respect him, how they look up to him, and always ask for advice.
Woman.ru: Two and a half years ago, were you deliberately looking for a serious relationship?
E.K.: Everything in my life happened in periods. Having gone to France and tasted the nomadic life, for some time I maintained an affair with a Frenchman, which ended exactly when he proposed to me, and I realized that I was not ready and did not want to start a family with him. After that relationship, I spent some time “free swimming”, engaged in education, career, and traveled with friends. A couple of years later, I graduated from the Sorbonne, bought an apartment in Paris, had a stable job and no longer went to castings. And when more free time appears, a woman has in her head, and you decide to start looking for the one and only one. And this is deplorable, because when you go out hunting, a greedy fire burns in your eyes, which, on the contrary, scares away men. I’m sure most girls will agree with me - you meet your person exactly when you’re not expecting him.
At the time I met Stas, I was not ready for a new relationship. Then I had already broken up with Dima Bilan, lived in New York, ended a love story there, and I needed to catch my breath. I did not consider any of the men as a potential partner for a long and happy life. Therefore, our dates with Stas were very easy and relaxed. I was natural. Him too. And the second meeting ended in general fun. Stas punctured a tire when he went to see me off. But I didn’t call a taxi, but went with him to the night tire shop, where they took a very long time to install a spare tire for us. We managed to do a comic photo shoot and ride a bike around the parking lot. We had a great time.
Woman.ru: Did Stas ask about your past relationships?
E.K.: He only asked: “Is it over?” I answered: “Yes.” And he wished that our previous relationship had no contact with the present one. We have no secrets from each other. For example, I periodically go abroad and I need a second phone, Stas gives me his spare one. There I can look at all his past photos, scroll through his mail, but the fact that he calmly hands it over to me already inspires trust. And I have no desire to dig around and look for something.
Woman.ru: Isn’t he annoyed that the trail of “Bilan’s ex-girlfriend” is firmly attached to you?
E.K.: I don’t know what kind of comments he went through from friends and colleagues, but one day I heard one of his answers when someone asked: “Oh, Kuletskaya, is this Bilan’s ex-girlfriend?” To which he immediately retorted: “Whose ex are you?” Everyone had exes, everyone had affairs, public and not.
Woman.ru: Looking back, do you think your public romance with Dima Bilan helped your career in Russia?
E.K.: I don’t know. Before meeting Dima, I had already made a good career in France, represented famous fashion houses and was the face of numerous cosmetic companies. Novels with actors, singers, and athletes are adored by the tabloid press. Think about it, what model names do you know? But there are many of them – successful, famous – in their field. But the public, far from the world of fashion, knows only those whose lives go in tandem with a public persona. In Russia, it was after my affair with Dima Bilan that people began to recognize me and invite me to various television projects. Gradually, from being an invited guest in the studio, I moved into the frame as a presenter. But there are many examples when a girl or guy, under the patronage, begins to shine at parties, on air, and if they are nothing of themselves, then they will be forgotten about them in a couple of months at most. I have been leading several television projects for more than 5 years. Of course, there are fans, and vice versa - but it’s not my task to please everyone. As they say, if you don’t like it, “unsubscribe”, don’t waste your life hating.
Woman.ru: Was Yana Rudkovskaya the moderator of your relationship with Bilan?
E.K.: No! Hand on heart, I can say that no one ever told us what to do or where to go. And there were no contracts in which they tried so hard to catch us. Moreover, on the one hand, they furiously shouted that they paid me, but at the same time other “eyewitnesses” just as frantically proved that I paid! Both sides had irrefutable evidence, in the form of “friends of friends” or “friends of acquaintances” who allegedly saw and heard everything exactly. At first I was amazed at such an obvious discrepancy in the arguments, and then I gave up on it all. After breaking up with Yana Rudkovskaya, her ex-husband Viktor Baturin admitted on one of the shows that they allegedly paid me 30,000 euros and gave me an apartment. I really want to say now: “Come on, where are the contracts?!” Let's come here!" As they say, be responsible for your words.
And I’m very interested in the address of this apartment, maybe someone can tell me where the keys are? By the way, I really like to have fun reading articles on the Internet. From time to time a situation arises in life to which you just can’t find an answer. At such moments, there is no need to rack your brains - go to the Internet, all-knowing people have already decided everything for you a long time ago and have already told everyone about everything. Right now I am dealing with wedding organizational issues. When ready – absolute zero. But on the Internet they have already written a script for my celebration and announced the date to me. I'm waiting for photos of myself, maybe then I'll decide on the style of the dress. (Laughs.)
Woman.ru: You and Stas have been engaged for a long time?
E.K.: Our engagement took place last November, on our second anniversary of dating. And why do we both remember this date, because immediately after the first date, the next day, I had a plane to Indonesia - I have a mark in my passport. Therefore, when a few months later we forgot the exact date of the beginning of our relationship, we looked at my passport.
Woman.ru: How are you going to hold the wedding?
E.K.: The celebration itself will take place in France for a narrow circle of friends and family. And, of course, for me with Stas. That is why we attach special importance to this part of our festive ceremony. We don't make it a crazy secret. But we’re not going to shout at every corner.
Woman.ru: What will your wedding dress be like?
E.K.: You see, when you work as a model for wedding catalogs and try on thirty dresses a day for a week, then you say to yourself: “I’ll only go to my wedding in jeans!”
No crinolines or corsets, ever!” Of course, this is a momentary impulsive reaction. And, of course, I will choose a dress for my wedding, it will be white, but what kind, I have no idea. Back in New York during the New Year holidays, I gathered all my girlfriends, we drank champagne and went to the Vera Wang boutique. We laughed and tried on several dresses, but it was more of a bachelorette party. Then for some reason I didn’t even think about looking closely at anything and choosing something. In Moscow, with the help of my mother and sister, I went to look for a dress, but to no avail. I feel like when the deadlines get really tight, I’ll just come to the salon and take the first one I like.
Creating a YouTube channel and a silver button
In May 2020, Elizaveta created an account on YouTube, where she posted reports from events - Junior Eurovision, Muz-TV Award, closed Hollywood party in Moscow, etc. She also filmed vlogs, vines and simply entertaining videos. Later, such Internet stars as Nikolai Sobolev, Katya Klap, Max 100500, Karina Arakelyan, Sasha Ice, Maryana Ro, Sofa Cooper began to appear in the young blogger’s videos.
Along with her increased popularity, a wave of hate also hit Lisa. But the girl was not offended by her ill-wishers and simply answered them with the song “Open Your Eyes,” in which she called on people to be kinder to others.
In March 2020, Lisa was invited to the RU.TV channel, where she hosted the “TOP CHART 18” program together with Olga Buzova. During the same period, the number of subscribers on her YouTube channel reached 100 thousand people, and the video hosting awarded Elizabeth a silver button.