Ice hockey player Alex Ovechkin and his wife of 8 years, Anastasia “Nastya” Shubskaya, share two sons, Sergei and Ilya.
Before finding lasting love with Nastya, Ovechkin experienced a notable chapter in his romantic life with Russian tennis star Maria Kirilenko.
The pair began dating in 2011 and engaged in December 2012; however, in July 2014, Kirilenko announced the end of their engagement.
In a statement to Russia’s R-Sport, she said, “I have decided to terminate the engagement. I do not want to go into the details. Our relationship is over, but I respect [Alex] as a person and athlete and I sincerely wish him continued athletic success.”
Reports speculated that the breakup may have been triggered by a photo of Ovechkin with Russian gymnast Karolina Sevastyanova, posted by a friend, though neither party confirmed the exact reason.
Ovechkin’s path to family life began when he reconnected with Anastasia Shubskaya, a Russian model and film producer, whom he first met at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
They had exchanged numbers and danced together at an after-party but lost touch for years. It wasn’t until early 2015, following his split from Kirilenko, Ovechkin stumbled across Shubskaya’s Instagram and reached out.
What started with comments on her posts blossomed into FaceTiming and dinners, eventually leading Shubskaya to visit him in Washington, D.C.
Shubskaya later told The Wasington Post, “I came and after this, I stayed till now.”
Later, in September 2015, Ovechkin proposed to Shubskaya, spontaneously knocking on the bathroom door while Shubskaya was showering.
The lovebirds later married in August 2016 in a small, private ceremony in Russia with Ovechkin.
They shared the news on Instagram, posting a photo of their hands wearing wedding bands and captioning it, “This is happiness.”
A year later, on July 8, 2017, they celebrated with a lavish wedding at the Barvikha Concert Hall in Moscow.
Several hockey stars, like Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Russian celebrities attended their wedding ceremony.
Alex Ovechkin Named His First Son After His Late Brother!
Ovechkin and Nastya first experienced parenthood after their son, Sergei Aleksandrovich Ovechkin, was born on August 18, 2018. They named him Sergei in honor of Ovechkin’s late brother.
The joy of starting a new chapter as a father was evident when Ovechkin announced Sergei’s arrival on Instagram, writing in Russian, “Thank you my girl for the very best day of my life.”
Their second son, Ilya Aleksandrovich Ovechkin, was born on May 27, 2020, with Ovechkin sharing a hospital photo and captioning it,
Thank you, my beloved @nastyashubskaya, for our charming baby! I am the happiest!! I love you very much! Ilya Aleksandrovich Ovechkin, welcome to this beautiful world, our boy!
The couple frequently shares glimpses of their family life on social media, from holiday celebrations to Sergei and Ilya joining their father on the ice.
Ovechkin has often spoken about his children in interviews. After Sergei’s birth, during the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup run, Nastya’s pregnancy announcement came hours after the victory.
Reflecting on that time, Ovechkin later shared his excitement about bringing his kids into the Capitals’ world. In a 2020 interview with The Washington Post, he said,
I was kind of waiting for that moment when my kid is going to be around with me in the locker room. The culture that we have here, it is something special, and all the guys love the kids, and it is going to be fun for him as well.
In May 2022, after a season-ending playoff loss, Ovechkin opened up to Washington Hockey Now about the challenge of being separated from his family, who had been in Moscow for months.
It was tough. I saw my wife only once, one week. And I didn’t see my kids since they left.
His emotional reunion with Sergei and Ilya, captured in a video Nastya posted on Instagram, showed him surprising his boys with hugs.
He added, “Right now, it’s time to get a rest, finally to see family and go back home. Take a rest and get ready for next year.”
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Alex Ovechkin was born to athletic parents; his father, Mikhail, was a professional soccer player, and his mother, Tatyana, was a basketball player.
- The ice hockey player, Ovechkin, wears the number 8 to honor his mother, who wore the same number during her basketball career.
