Actor Valery Nikolaev: photo, biography, personal life, films, interesting facts. Why did Valery Nikolaev marry a circus performer And then, despite the fact that everything was fine, for some reason you broke up ...

22.10.2019

Candid interview with the new wife of the famous heartthrob

As we already reported in the last issue, 49-year-old actor Valery NIKOLAEV, whom viewers see every week in Ilya Averbukh's super show "Ice Age", secretly married a circus performer - 31-year-old Elmira ZEMSKOVA. At the numerous requests of readers, Express Newspaper turned to Elmira with a request to tell how Valery conquered her and what sacrifices she is ready to make for her beloved.

The whole country followed the relationship of the handsome Valery Nikolaev with actress Irina Apeksimova. In 1989 they left for the USA in search of a better professional life. Nikolaev successfully starred in several Hollywood films. But American luck did not smile at Irina. Having decided to continue her career in her homeland, Irina left her star husband in a foreign land. This predetermined their separation. After the return of Nikolaev, they starred together in the famous film "Bourgeois's Birthday". And during the filming, Valery had an affair with actress Daria Poverennova.
How many such novels there were in the life of a popular artist - today, probably, even he himself will not be able to calculate. But now a new period has begun in the life of the "bourgeois": he married the beautiful gymnast Elmira Zemskova!

We met at the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, - said the artist of the Circus. Nikulin Elmira Zemskova. - Valery walked along the corridor, and when I saw him, I asked my mother about him. She told me about the starring role in the film Bourgeois's Birthday, which I, since I spent a lot of time abroad, for obvious reasons, did not see. Mom explained that they were filming the TV show "Circus with Stars" and Nikolaev was one of the participants. Behind the scenes, in a cafe over a cup of coffee, we talked and got to know each other.
- What else did he win you over?
- Courage. During the performance with horses, he crushed his heel. Jumped badly. He had a crack, but he did not leave the race, but continued to prepare other gymnastic numbers in the air. All the circuses respected him then. By the way, Valera was engaged in artistic gymnastics as a child and did not become a candidate for master of sports due to a broken arm.
Our paths converged and diverged. Since I am also an ambitious girl, I could not refuse foreign contracts. Now we are trying to be together: either he goes abroad with me, if I have a contract signed, or I pack my bags and fly with him. For example, he recently filmed in Cuba in the film Cult. I went with Valera.

Husband did the wedding

You were not embarrassed that the press wrote a lot about the broken women's hearts of Valery Nikolaev?
- Of course, I knew about Irina Apeksimova. I heard he was drinking. Sometimes it is sharp, breaks. But there are no perfect people. Valera's virtues outweigh his faults. He is a real man. He could come somewhere and arrange fireworks in honor of me. Valera himself organized our wedding. I didn't know anything about her training.
We once walked near the Novodevichy Convent. They sat on a bench by the lake, Valera knelt down and, holding out a ring, offered to marry. All I did for our wedding was to make a festive menu and on one of my visits from Cuba, together with my future husband, I chose a wedding dress. Even two. Both are not wedding, so I will often wear them in everyday life. I had no dream - to wear a white dress with a veil. Valera bought wedding rings himself: they are made in the shape of infinity.

Are you superstitious? Usually the dress is not shown to the groom ...
- There is a sign in the circus: you can’t sit with your back to the arena, otherwise luck will turn away. I follow this rule. But when it comes to wedding matters - here you need to act according to the situation.
- How did Valery's relationship with his mother-in-law develop?
- My mother loves him, so they found a common language.
- Where did you celebrate the wedding?
- In the ancient Russian city of Suzdal. Valery wants to show me beautiful cities that I have not seen. He gave me a tour of Moscow, which I did not know well. There was no magnificent celebration: 14 people were guests. Signed on Monday, without fuss. It really turned out to be our holiday, which was made for two. On the second day, the guests went on city tours.
- This is your first marriage. Chosen under a microscope?
- At the beginning of my career, I had no time for men: the circus is home, the circus is home. Then suitors began to appear, thinking something like this: “Oh, what a girl, sitting on a twine.” But I have before my eyes the example of my father - also a circus performer Nikolai Zemskov, who was the leader of the numbers "Equilibrists on Perches" and "Russian Stick". I was 12 years old when he died. But I remember it for the rest of my life. Everyone in the family adored dad: calm, balanced. The house was warm and cozy. My father was the wall that I then looked for all the time in other men. Naturally, when you grow up with a father who represents a male ideal for you, you look for the same. So I waited a long time.

Calls a goddess

Nikolaev looks like his father?
- I understood from the very beginning: Valery is a man with a capital letter. He takes good care of me. Often in a male company I hear: “Yes, that’s how they are, women.” And Valery corrects: “But I don’t have a woman, I have a goddess!” You can't even imagine how much he helps people. Someone needs help, they immediately turn to Valera. Let me give you one example: in Cuba, the artists and I somehow wandered into an abandoned estate. We saw 36 dogs. Valery and I are dog lovers in life: he is still worried about the death of Rick the Labrador who died under the wheels of a car. The artists began to feed the dogs - and you won’t look at them without tears: they are bald, the bones stick out. Valera paid for the veterinarians who gave the mutts injections for worms. And we brought a kitten from Suzdal, who accidentally sat on Valera's shoe in the temple. Named Eva. First they gave a nickname, and then studied: a boy or a girl. Guessed with the name ... Somehow we are driving a car and we see a guy with a girl flying on a motorcycle. The husband pushes the driver to the side of the road and explains: “What are you doing? Why is she not wearing a helmet? Think about the girl!

I know that Nikolaev even got a tattoo in honor of you.
- Yes. For the film in the film "Cult" he must have a tattoo on his shoulder. He was first painted with paints, and since the shooting took place in the heat, she was washed off. So he decided to beat her up. Then he changed it a little: he added my profile and the name Elmira. I'm not going to fill anything in honor of him: tattoos are not my topic. But in his honor I give birth to children. Valera wants, of course, a son, because he has a daughter, Dasha. And I - two, but first a daughter.

Does your husband worry that you risk your life every day by working at height without insurance?
- Yes. That's why he doesn't want me to work. But I explain: “Valery, I need to say goodbye to the audience. If I leave now, I won’t forgive.” The circus was my life, and my husband understands me. Of course, he wants me to be by his side, alive and well. And, choosing between the circus and Valera, I will choose it. Soon I will finish my circus activity. I have been working at the arena since the age of 12, that is, already 18. I have the right to a legal pension: for aerial gymnasts, the experience is 15 years. True, so far I have received a refusal from the pension fund: a year and a half is not enough. I will seek justice.
- Aren't you afraid that the Olympic champion Maria Petrova will take her husband away?
- I'm not jealous: if a man wants to leave, he will do it. And keep in tight rein - it's pointless. I will not allow myself or him to live with the motto "to the foot." It's embarrassing when I see how the fans fit in Valera and, seeing me, are humiliated. But I'm definitely not jealous.

The infamous actor Valery Nikolaev, who was noted for a number of brawls, commented on the news of the divorce.

33-year-old circus performer Elmira Zemskova divorces 50-year-old actor Valery Nikolaev. During his wild adventures in Moscow, she was in Vienna, where she worked under a contract. Zemskova flew to her husband as soon as free time appeared. While Elmira paid fines and repaired wrecked cars, Nikolaev continued to brawl, Life News reported.

Cunning journalists, having barely found out about the new status of the star of the series "Birthday of the Bourgeois", immediately contacted Valery Nikolaev to find out the details. "I rejoice! On *** from the field - the mare is easier, ”the publication quotes the words of the infamous actor.

This is the fourth marriage of Valery Nikolaev. The couple was officially together for more than two years, during which time they did not have children. Prior to that, Nikolaev was married to famous actresses Irina Apeksimova, Lyubov Tikhomirova, and also lived in a civil marriage with Daria Poverennova and Tatyana Ovsienko.

According to some media, it was a series of personal troubles that knocked down the already shattered psyche of Valery Nikolaev. Having knocked down a 54-year-old woman in his car, the actor made another accident a day later. Having dragged the traffic police officers on the hood, he blocked the doors and windows in the car and refused to get out. The police had to break the windshield. Even after serving ten days in the Moscow Special Detention Center No. 2, Nikolaev is not going to plead guilty. Moreover, he wrote a counter statement for a knocked out tooth and police misconduct.

Few colleagues are ready to justify the artist. Nevertheless, their number includes a former lover, actress Lyubov Tikhomirova. “Valera needs to be supported. His parents have died, so he is going through a difficult period. I believe that our common human task is higher than personal interests. It’s not nice when actresses talk about their love story with him on the pages of magazines and PR at his expense, and in a difficult situation, none of them came to the rescue. I don't understand the reaction of people close to him. Valera's wife is on tour now. I understand that Elmira has a contract and she performs abroad, but it was possible to fly in for the weekend. When such a situation, it is necessary to mobilize, and not look for excuses for inaction, ”said the actress.

Interestingly, Tikhomirova found an opportunity to help her former lover. “I have my own family and child, and I, in fact, have nothing to do with him, but I found Valera a lawyer, doctors. I am for Valery to be punished, but there is no need to publicly sling mud at him. The woman is alive and well, she did not receive serious injuries, she does not want to shine, because she is from Uzbekistan. From whom did she receive the money? Valery is proud, so we will not hear public repentance from him. He believes that the police officers also committed offenses,” Tikhomirova said in a recent interview.

Valery Valeryevich Nikolaev is a Russian actor whose calling card was the main role in the TV series Bourgeois's Birthday. But there are many other roles in his piggy bank, including in Hollywood projects, and his favorite role is honest, courageous and determined men.

Childhood and youth

Valery Nikolaev was born and raised in the capital, near the River Station. The mother of the future actor worked as an artist until her retirement, her father used to teach at the Forestry Engineering Institute, later a firm that certified goods.

Valera grew up as an active mobile boy, spent whole days with his friends in the yard, loved to play football and hockey, and did not stand aside during street fights. From an early age, he was professionally engaged in gymnastics and even dreamed of an Olympic podium. The resulting hand injury crossed out the young man's ambitious plans, but he nevertheless became a candidate for master of sports.

Valery became interested in theater as a teenager thanks to a teacher of the Russian language. She often turned lessons into real performances, inviting students to transform into literary characters. It was then that Nikolaev woke up an interest in the acting profession, to which he decided to devote his future life.

But immediately after school, he failed to enter a theater university, and Valery, following the path of least resistance, took the documents to the Forestry Engineering Institute, where his father worked. Very soon he regretted his decision, and a year later he became a student at the Moscow Art Theater School, getting on the legendary course of Oleg Tabakov. Together with him, the basics of acting learned Evgeny Mironov, Philip Yankovsky, Vladimir Mashkov and Irina Apeksimova, who later became his wife.

During his studies, Nikolaev twice went to America for an internship: he studied the language, professionally studied dance and choreography at the universities of New York and Gainesville, and studied acting at the famous Juilliard School of the Arts. These skills were very useful to him in the future, and the contacts and acquaintances received in the USA opened the way for the Russian actor to Hollywood.

Actor career

In 1990, Nikolaev defended his diploma and was invited to the troupe of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater. Valery served in the theater for eight years, staged five performances as a choreographer, but still made his main bet on cinema.

Nikolaev began acting in his senior year, and having tried his hand at domestic cinema, in the late 90s he went to conquer Hollywood. He was lucky to work with such eminent directors as Oliver Stone and Philip Noyce, and meet on the same platform with a whole constellation of famous overseas actors. So, he played a rather important role in the action movie The Saint with Val Kilmer (the film was nominated for the Golden Raspberry anti-award), the thriller The Turn with Sean Penn, the drama The Terminal with Tom Hanks.

But the real hallmark of Valery was the role of Vladimir Kovalenko in the TV series Bourgeois's Birthday (2000), which glorified him throughout the post-Soviet space. In this serial thriller, he tried on the image of an orphan who independently (and most importantly, honestly) earned a fortune. When trying to find his parents, the man is drawn into a string of intrigues. The series fell in love with the audience, and a year later the light saw a sequel.

Valery Nikolaev in the program "Night Session" with Renata Litvinova

For the next ten years, Nikolaev was literally in great demand, he was willingly invited to both Russian and foreign projects, and in 2007 Valery made his debut as a director, making the film "Bear Hunt", where he himself played the main role. He also invited Dana Borisova, Vasily Livanov and Emmanuil Vitorgan to the project.

Valery Nikolaev in the show "Ice Age"

Thanks to his excellent physical shape, the actor has repeatedly become participants in various television projects in which he demonstrated his strength, agility and endurance.

Personal life of Valery Nikolaev

Nikolaev's personal life is no less exciting than his professional career, and could well become the plot of an exciting melodrama with action elements. His first wife was classmate Natalya Pirogova, whom he married in 1984, after returning from the army.

But the student marriage did not last long, and soon the windy Valery had an affair with another classmate, Irina Apeksimova, whom he left in 1988. Six years later, baby Dasha was born to the spouses, but the family idyll collapsed overnight on the set of Bourgeois, where Valery became interested in Daria Poverennova.

Upon learning of her husband's betrayal, the proud Apeksimova immediately filed for divorce and even refused to act in the continuation of the series. However, Valery broke up with Daria two years later, leaving the actress in the deepest depression.

Then Nikolaev had affairs with singer Tatyana Ovsienko, actress Lyubov Tikhomirova and figure skater Maria Petrova, and the third official wife of the actor in 2014 was circus performer Elmira Zemskova.

In addition to love affairs, the actor became famous for high-profile scandals, which he periodically arranged in a fair amount of drunkenness. Nikolaev repeatedly became a participant in an accident and violated the rules of traffic rules, because of which he was brought to administrative responsibility and lost his driver's license. Once knocked down a woman, fortunately, she survived. In early 2017, the actor was arrested for 15 days for driving without a driver's license.

In March 2016, the show “Let them talk” reported that the fourth wife had left Valery. With this, the journalists justified his recent inappropriate behavior - a couple of weeks before that, he made a brawl in a car dealership. Dana Borisova stood up for the actor - according to her, the actor is in deep depression due to failures in his personal life and lack of demand in the profession. Dmitry Maryanov and Maria Shukshina.

Elmira Zemskova. Road of change

Last spring, in the period between the accident that Valera got into and the trial, there were well-wishers who told me: “Why do you need such a husband?” As if a person can simply be thrown out if he became uncomfortable!

I grew up in a family of circus performers and literally lived in the arena since childhood. It is not surprising that it was in the circus that she met her future husband. In 2008, the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard hosted the shooting of the second season of the TV show "Circus with the Stars". One fine day, my mother and I ran into Vladimir Turchinsky and Valery Nikolaev in the corridor, who participated in the project. I had never seen Valera before: I spent many years traveling around the world, I watched TV very rarely and I had not heard about the TV series Bourgeois's Birthday. But unaware of his media exposure, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

Who is it? - I asked my mother.
- Famous actor.
Without expecting it, she blurted out:
- Mom, this is my future husband!

She looked ironically in response: well, of course, they say, fasten your lip! But Saint-Exupery was right: only the heart is vigilant. When I first saw a person, I immediately felt - mine! However, it only came to mind after a few years ...

Since then, I often met Valera at the circus. Sometimes we trained in parallel, I came to the arena to see how the program was filmed. Nikolaev was engaged in gymnastics as a child, which came in handy when staging circus acts under the guidance of experienced mentors. I noted what a hard worker he is, how he loves sports. I thought that in this sense we are similar. And also in the perseverance with which Valera went to his victory in the show: he continued to perform even after he injured his heel, doing a back flip from the back of the horse. Seeing him once in the buffet, she came up with the words:

We are rooting for you.
He smiled.
- Thank you, it's very nice.

Valera achieved his goal - he took first place, sharing it with gymnast Irina Chashchina. When the project was completed, he found me at the circus and handed me an invitation to the final banquet, which was arranged for the participants. I congratulated him on his victory, but I was embarrassed about the dinner:

Can i? I didn't participate in the project...
"Be my companion," he offered.

We were with you for a long time: Elmira Nikolaevna and Valery Valeryevich ... Although at that holiday we communicated easily and naturally, as if we had known each other all our lives. Which, of course, did not exclude mutual respect. Valera drove me home, I left him a phone number and gave him a CD with my performance - he already knew that I was an aerial gymnast and was interested in the program. Two days later, at eleven in the morning, the phone rang. I pick up the phone - Valera: “Are you at home? Come out, I'm waiting at the entrance. I really liked your video. We need to discuss it urgently."

After participating in the show, Valera saw my number through the eyes of a circus performer, and not a spectator. I realized that the graceful tricks that I easily perform on a sparkling spiral suspended under the very dome were given by years of exhausting training. I work either inside the spiral, or next to it, at a height, without insurance. This unique number called "Prima" was invented by the coach and teacher artist Gennady Ivanovich Totukhov, and Ruslan Ganeev became the director. I have been performing since the age of fifteen.

She followed her parents to the circus. They were introduced in 1980 by the teacher of the circus school Leonid Mikheevich Petlitsky. My mother, Nina Ernstovna, entered his course, having arrived in Moscow from Novosibirsk. Father Nikolai Alexandrovich was already a graduate, he had just served in the army. My future parents and several other gymnasts were offered to unite and put on a common number “Equilibrists on perches”.

Papa was the lower equilibrist and held a perch on his forehead or on his shoulder - a huge pole weighing twenty kilograms, on which the upper equilibrist performed. They became my mother. In the Soviet years, unmarried couples were not accommodated in hotels together, so parents did not delay with a stamp in their passport. They wanted to have time to register before the next trip, but dad was forced to leave. Then they pulled off a gamble: my mother came to apply to the Griboedovsky registry office with his passport and a boy who looked like his father. Of course, the groom was at the wedding in person.

Soon I was born. Until the sixth month, my mother performed under the dome, and on the eighth I asked to be born ahead of schedule. When she grew up, she spent all her time in the circus - next to her parents. School problems in algebra were sometimes solved by the whole team. At each performance, I sat on the stairs near the arena and proudly informed the audience: “Look! My mother is up there!” At the same time, she perfectly understood how hellish work these performances were given: there were dents on the forehead and shoulders of the pope, which constantly abscessed. And what nerves it cost to participate in international competitions! During one of them, a tragedy happened in our family.

In 1995, the parents, who were listed as artists of the Russian State Circus, went to the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo. We worked out two numbers, went for gold ... After the final, we returned to the hotel. It turned out that dad went up to the room a little earlier than mom - she lingered in the hotel lobby with friends. When I entered, my father was lying on the floor. The ambulance rushed literally a minute later, but they did not manage to save him: his heart stopped. But dad was only thirty-six!

He died the day before the thirteenth wedding anniversary, the parents were going to celebrate the anniversary in Nice ... Not only was mommy out of her mind with grief, the subsequent worries fell on her shoulders: her husband had to be taken home, Russian circus agents could not find money for this . Help came from an unexpected source - the prince of Monaco, who saw my father's performance, paid for the transportation.

Farewell, already in Moscow, was organized by Yuri Nikulin at the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. He showed interest, although my parents were not even on his staff. Everyone adored Yuri Vladimirovich, kindly called Grandfather. After the death of his father, Nikulin invited a group of "Equilibrists on Persians" to his place on Tsvetnaya. Mom still works there. She has already finished her career as an equilibrist and became a coach.

My parents did not take me on the fateful trip. How I regretted that I was not at the right moment next to my dad! He left when I was only twelve, but even then I quite consciously decided that I would continue his work. And I will not disgrace the name. However, then she never aspired to circus festivals. She started at Persha with her mother, then her own number appeared with a spiral. She worked for eight years in Germany, four years on a tourist liner in the Mediterranean, spent a year in Las Vegas, collaborated with the Cirque du Soleil.

Valera also had experience working abroad, and this became another topic that brought us together. I quickly made up for the gaps in my acquaintance with his work. Even at the dawn of our relationship, Nikolaev invited me to the premiere of the film "Bear Hunt", where he was a director and actor. Later, I bought several CDs with films where he starred. Valera told me how he was impressed by Hollywood, and I was sincerely interested in how he worked with the famous Steven Spielberg in the movie "Terminal".

Neither he nor I tried to settle abroad. Both had no idea how to live away from their homeland. True, Valera was surprised that having traveled almost the whole world, I practically do not know Moscow. Once suggested:

Let's take a walk in Kolomenskoye?
- Where?
- Have you never been there?

Since childhood, due to the heavy workload, I traveled mainly along the same route: from my house on Maslovka to the Circus on Tsvetnoy, where I am still registered. I went skating with Valera for the first time in Gorky Park and was amazed at how beautifully and festively it is decorated in winter. The husband sometimes jokes: “How lucky I am with my wife! You don’t need to take her to Bali - there are so many more discoveries waiting for her at home!

The ideal man for me has always been a strong and loving dad. Naturally, I compared Valera with him, who knew our family history. He felt responsible for it. I am seventeen years younger than Nikolaev, and he always treated me very carefully. I was in no hurry to get close. At first, we talked in a friendly way: we had dinner together, went to the cinema, walked holding the handle. Gradually, Valera began unobtrusive courtship: he gave flowers, gifts. Sometimes there were kisses. Every day we were more and more attracted to each other ... But I was afraid to fall in love with him. Mom also called for caution: “You understand - he is a famous actor ...” Although she wisely did not interfere in my life.

Valery and I have not yet talked about meeting our parents, although I met his dad, Valery Evgenievich, at the premiere of Bear Hunt. It turned out that they are very close, the father had a huge influence on his son: in his youth, Valera even tried to follow in his footsteps - he entered the Forestry Engineering Institute, where he taught. But I did not study for long - it became boring. I quit and went to the theater. I saw that Valery Evgenievich was proud of his son, an actor, worried about him. When I showed my future father-in-law a record of my number, he scolded me: “How can you work without insurance at such a height! You are crazy? It’s not enough for me that Valerka often performs stunts in the cinema himself - and you’re in the same place, risking your life!

I learned about Valera's past from him. I didn’t surf the Internet, I didn’t ask for details. He himself said that before our meeting he had been married twice. The first time - on a classmate at the Moscow Art Theater School-Studio Natalya Pirogova. From the second wife, actress Irina Apeksimova, Valera already has an adult daughter, Dasha. We went to visit Irina, and there we met. He loves his daughter very much and is proud of her.

I was just as frank with Valera ... In my youth, I lived with the juggler Lev for three years. We were separated by a tour: she went to Las Vegas, and it is impossible to maintain a serious relationship at a distance. A few years later I learned that Leva had crashed on a motorcycle. On tour, I had fans from foreigners, but it didn’t work out: they have a different mentality, upbringing, attitude towards women. And with Valera from the first day it was even comfortable to be silent.

A year has flown by. I still lived at my place on Maslovka, he - on Taganka. There was no talk of leaving. In addition, we both worked hard: either he would go on an expedition to shoot, or I would go on tour. At some point, I received an offer to conclude a contract for four years of work on a cruise ship - nine months a year. This prospect seemed tempting to me, but Valera did not hold back. Probably, both of us were not yet ready to tie our fates.

When I left, we did not think that we were parting. And indeed, at first they continued to communicate, often called back. But when I arrived on my first vacation and we met, Valera seemed somehow detached. I realized that he had already begun a different life - without me. She didn’t get into Nikolaev’s soul, she just stepped aside. I decided that I would leave soon anyway. I thought: if you love, let go, and if the person is really yours, he will definitely return. So, without much drama, our communication gradually faded away.

We haven't seen each other for five years. I tried to erase Nikolaev from my memory: I didn’t follow his life on the Internet, I didn’t watch the films where I played. But involuntarily, everyone who looked after me in those years was compared with him. And all applicants lost to Nikolaev. Then it turned out that he often thought about me, but did not know where I was, with whom. I was afraid to be out of place.

In 2014, my tour ended - I got off the ship in India, stayed there for three days. And suddenly, in one of the stores, I saw a magazine with a portrait of a man very similar to Valera ... Memories came flooding back. Arriving in Moscow, I went into an empty apartment. And the next day he called me. We saw each other, talked until the morning and decided not to part again. Valera admitted: “I made a mistake. I shouldn't have let you go then."

I already knew that Nikolaev did not throw words into the wind. Some time passed before I heard a declaration of love. It became clear that he had the most serious intentions. Almost immediately he met my parents - my mother and stepfather Alexander Stoyanovskiy. Valera's mother - Anastasia Vasilievna - I did not find. She died in 2011, for her son it was a huge blow.

We already lived together when the doctors diagnosed his dad with a very difficult diagnosis. Irina Apeksimova helped find the best specialists at the Botkin Hospital. Almost all the time Valera was next to dad. When the doctors allowed, he brought home. I cooked his favorite soup with meatballs, Nikolaev and I tried to distract Valery Evgenievich from hospital everyday life. But he was getting worse, sometimes even talking was unbearable. It's hard to see a loved one fade away. Valera worked hard to pay for the treatment. And he lived in the hope that dad would get out.

Including for the sake of earning money, Nikolaev agreed to a role in the series "Cult", and we flew to Cuba, where the shooting took place. They settled in a two-story house on the very shore of the ocean. At first it seemed that they were in paradise, but it soon became clear that it was very difficult to feed oneself in the town of Tarara: apart from fruits, potatoes and beans, you would not find anything in local shops. Every day I cooked "various" salads: avocado with onions, avocado with potatoes, avocado with mango...

We bought fish from a local resident. Once this Cuban invited Valera and his friend, martial arts coach and fight director Taras Kiyashko, to go fishing, and before going out to sea, he crossed himself and said: “See the shark - don’t panic.” Of course, they did not sail anywhere after such a warning. I was even afraid to swim there - I did it only with Valera. Then we, however, swam with dolphins, but I still could not relax in the water.

In Tarara we met compatriots who worked in Cuba. Once we were treated to real borscht, they told us where to buy milk, eggs, sour cream... Valera is a lark, jumping up at dawn and jogging along the ocean. One day I wake up: on the nightstand by the bed - rustic cottage cheese with sour cream. What happiness it was!

Not far from us was the house where Dmitry Maryanov and his wife Ksenia lived. He also starred in The Cult. Somehow they invite us to visit:

Guys, we have Olivier!
We almost lost our minds:
- Where?
Ksyusha from an ax is able to make a culinary masterpiece!

I watched Nikolaev work: I leafed through the script in the evening - and that's it, I memorized it! I didn't understand: is it possible? For the first time I saw the filming process from the inside, I appreciated how Valera gives all the best. Often in the evenings there were discussions with director Oleg Fesenko: they found the best solutions for the scenes for the next day. In the mornings before filming, there were fight rehearsals. Nikolaev performed some tricks himself, refusing to use an understudy. Before my eyes, Valera was driving over the gorge along the bridge in an open-top car: he stood with a machine gun in the driver's seat and held the steering wheel with one foot. Despite the fact that I was always afraid of heights!

Valera also found time for romantic gestures: once he brought me an armful of sunflowers. I saw a field and a narwhal on the way back from filming... I remember that at the weekend we went to an elite resort - we settled in the legendary villa of Dupont, a well-known American multibillionaire at the beginning of the last century. Finally, we were able to truly relax together.

Valera and I have the same love for our smaller brothers: we drag everyone into the house. He is even more compassionate than I am in this regard. There were a lot of skinny, hungry dogs in one filming location. The whole site fed them. And Valera, at his own expense, called the doctors so that the mongrels were examined and vaccinated.

A dog named Nut (in translation - Ear, and her ears were like burdocks) nailed to us in Cuba. Naturally, she became a member of the family when they left for the shooting - she guarded the house. Then we noticed that Orekha was somehow suspiciously rounded. She forgot to warn us about her pregnancy ... As a result, I delivered the dog in our closet. I called Valera to shoot: “We are giving birth!” He returned home already to the offspring: six puppies, which we distributed to new acquaintances in the last two weeks before departure. They even seriously thought about taking Orekha to Moscow, but regretted it: the dog frolic all his life in nature, and we will drag him to a cold city, in a concrete bag. The nut was left with our friends in Cuba.

Several times Valera flew to Moscow in between filming to visit his father. But when Valery Evgenievich died, his son worked in Cuba. We immediately flew to Moscow, and three days after the funeral we had to return. Valera was in a depressed state. He blamed himself for not being with his father in the last minutes of his life. And I understood him perfectly, because I experienced the same thing in childhood, but did not know how to support my beloved. How could I help him? Men do not cry - and Valera did not worry for show, it was impossible to get him to talk on a sore subject. He pretended that life goes on: externally suppressed his feelings, and internally tried to survive the pain of loss on his own. But this is not always humanly possible, and this pain ticked in his brain like a time bomb...

Before going to Cuba, Valera proposed to me, while saying: “Wow, I thought that I would not marry anymore.” And after the tragedy, he began to especially value his loved ones. He needed a family ... To be honest, I didn’t expect these words, I never even hinted at the wedding to Nikolaev - we began to live together only four months ago. That day they were walking in the square of the Novodevichy Convent, and Valera says:

Let's swear.
I sat down on the bench. He knelt down and handed me an engagement ring (and already for the wedding he gave me another - woven into a symbol of infinity, in this sign Valera saw the hope that our love would be eternal).
When I saw the ring, I exclaimed:
- Oh, how beautiful!
I put on.
- On the other finger, Elya! Valery looked into his eyes impatiently.
- Will you be my wife or not?
- Oh sure! I laughed.

Upon returning from Cuba, Valera gave me a wedding present - an Infiniti car. And we chose the dress together: we bought three outfits - all not in the style of the bride, but very beautiful. I never dreamed of a traditional celebration with limousines and crinolines. By the way, Valera has very good taste. When he bought me a dress or shoes in absentia - everything fit as if it was sewn on me. He completely took over the organization of the wedding, I chose only the banquet menu. So there were many surprises ahead.

On the day of the celebration, Valera brought me to the airfield, where a helicopter was waiting for us! Nikolaev smiled: “You’re an aerial gymnast - let’s fly to the wedding, but don’t go!” The heavens smiled at us, we were lucky with the weather in September 2014 - a beautiful view opened up from a height.

And we landed in Suzdal, where I had never been before. The rest of the guests, only fifteen people, were already waiting for us. The hairdresser did my hair - and we went to the registry office, with which there was an agreement (it was specially opened on Monday only for us, usually this is a day off).

The wedding turned out to be sincere: we walked around the monasteries, sat at the table in the evening, danced ... Everyone stayed at the hotel overnight. When we woke up, we went on a tour of the city. On the second day, a loaf was brought to us to check who would be the head of the family - I bit off a larger piece. Valera laughed: “Well, of course, you are my Goddess!” He often calls me that jokingly.

They returned from Suzdal with replenishment: on the territory of the monastery, a kitten ran out of the cabbage in the local garden and sat on Valerin's boot. The husband immediately melted:

Let's take it?
I resisted as best I could.
- We are constantly on the road and can not take a cat.

We walked, we return - the kitten runs again and again sits on his leg. Then a priest walks by and says: “Do you want to take a kitten? I bless!” Of course, I threw a murderous look at this priest: well, thank you! They brought the kitten home and named it Eve. Then I treated him for all sorts of infections. When she was making a passport, the doctor ironically remarked: "A strange name for a boy." Renamed Baby.

After the information about the wedding was leaked to the press, a flurry of calls hit me. Terrified, she asked Valera: “Where did they get my phone number from?” I didn't know what tabloid pen sharks were. Then I realized that they were trying to distort my words in a way that was more beneficial for them, and stopped communicating. I was very upset when one newspaper called me a "circus performer" - this is an insult! It is customary to say "circus performers."

I was faced with the fact that if I live with an artist, then I have to put up with a public lifestyle. There was a period when Valera was constantly invited to various events. I don't like them, I get tired of other people's attention. She stayed at home, expressing resentment: “You are leaving again, but I want to be together!” Then we learned to hear each other, to find compromises. And as a result, Nikolaev is also a “donkey” - now it’s more pleasant for him to chat with his wife in his free time, especially since we didn’t succeed so often because of work schedules. They just couldn't get enough of each other.

At first I was tense due to the fact that you can’t calmly walk down the street - they recognize Nikolaev and ask to be photographed. Then I stopped noticing it. Valera has never suffered from star disease, he is friendly with fans. Of course, there were cases when girls frankly tried to flirt, but I don’t blame Valera for the fact that some young ladies have no self-esteem! Sometimes, text messages came from women ... I take this philosophically: you can’t put a scarf on someone else’s mouth. The main thing is that my husband didn’t give me a reason to be jealous, I didn’t give him one either. We do not hide our phones from each other.

I learned how to cook with Valera - I had never cooked borscht for myself in a whole pot before. When friends come to him, I also want to feed them deliciously. My husband is generally very unpretentious in food and praises my culinary skills. He can clean up and help peel the potatoes. Both of us are so independent in everyday life that we didn’t even have grinding. Quarrels at first happened over some trifles: word for word ... Once I even went for a walk and slammed the door. I return: the apartment is strewn with rose petals, balloons are everywhere, they have the inscription "I'm sorry" on them. When Valera is guilty, he always asks for forgiveness.

Nikolaev is very attentive, he remembers everything that I tell him about myself. The candy-bouquet period after the wedding usually ends, and my husband still came home with flowers every time. The same cat Malysh drank water only from vases - photos have been preserved of how he funny sticks his muzzle into them. My birthdays are always surprises...

Once Valera called my friends and brought us to the popular wind tunnel attraction. All with the same argument: "You're an aerial gymnast - let's fly!" There was some magic in it. And it turned out that we are both fans of the Lube group. As a child, I toured with the circus in America, and on the bus they played “Don't play the fool, America!” all the time. Valera is familiar with Rastorguev, and we went to his concert with pleasure, sang along in chorus. Such coincidences are also not accidental.

It is always a puzzle for me to come up with such an original idea for my husband for the holidays. In Cuba, he liked to smoke local cigars, and I undertook to look for a humidor - a box for their proper storage. I bought an old copy at an auction for big money, it has an engraving of Romeo y Julieta. Valera was very touched. And for his fiftieth birthday, she ordered him a special ring, on which a lion was depicted - according to the sign of his horoscope. We celebrated our birthday in Italy: we spontaneously found a cozy restaurant in Rome. I just worked on a cruise ship, Valera came to me - they swept all over Europe.

It seems that an idyll reigned in our family, but a breakdown was imperceptibly brewing in Valeria's soul. And the starting point for this internal crisis was the death of his father. On this rod, like a spindle, other problems were wound ... It didn’t work out in work: there were no interesting proposals, he himself refused bad ones, but as an actor he felt unfulfilled. It was only with him that I realized how dependent the profession of an actor is. In the circus, you do what you can, and you will always be busy and in demand, I was more fortunate in this regard than he was.

I drew all the conclusions from my observations: Valera did not share his experiences at all. He gave out some fragments of his creative fantasies, and I put together a puzzle out of this. When I tried to talk, he could start to get annoyed: they say, don’t pester, I’m tired ... I didn’t take it to heart. Valera was emotionally exhausted, he started having problems sleeping... didn't know what to do about it. And while my husband had a lull in work, I tried not to refuse contracts.

Since September 2015, my contract in Vienna for six months came into force. Valera and I discussed this, and I agreed reluctantly - I did not want to leave him alone in this state. Called with me:

Let's go to Vienna! Change the scenery, get out!
He refused:
- You don't understand, I have problems here, I can't!

I'm not used to pushing: an adult decides for himself what is best for him. But none of us is immune from mistakes...

To fill the void in his professional life, Valera agreed to participate in the television project Without Insurance. This is a huge emotional and physical burden. And the body began to fail. There were no injuries - the hand suffered. Moreover, Nikolaev always tries to do everything honestly. A year before, I myself watched him give all the best in the Ice Age show. Once, during a performance, he injured his knee - he fell on the ice and could not get up. I run to him.

How do you?
He through his teeth:
- Fine.
Never say that he hurts. Only the leg gives out a picture - it turns blue and swells! Doctors put Valera on a stretcher and take her to the first-aid post. They begin to drain blood from his swollen knee. Seeing this, I slide down to the floor... And then Valera tries to get up.
- I'm on the couch, and my wife is on the floor!
The doctor keeps him
- Lie down, where are you going?
I'm in a semi-conscious state:
- I'm alright!

The arm had just begun to heal after the show “Without insurance”, when Nikolaev was admitted to the hospital with appendicitis, there were complications - he was operated on three times under general anesthesia. She came from Vienna to visit her husband and was horrified: he was thin, with bruises under his eyes ... Valera lost fifteen kilograms! And journalists associated his dramatic weight loss with an unhealthy lifestyle - alcohol and drugs. Nobody knew the truth. Valera always went in for sports - morning jogging, gym ... He drank sometimes, but did not suffer from alcoholism. And after the hospital he was forbidden to drink at all.

I could not refuse the planned performances in Vienna - for this I would have to pay a huge penalty. Flew away. Valera was still in the hospital ... In March, my contract was ending, and on February 25, an unfortunate accident happened. I found out about him the next morning from journalists who began to cut off my phone:

Your husband rammed several cars in a car, hit a traffic police officer and fled the scene of the crime! How can you comment on this?
To say I was shocked is an understatement.
- I am in Vienna on tour, for the first time I hear about the accident from you!

At first I hoped that it was a duck, I began to call Valera, but he was unavailable. I learned from friends that my husband had been detained. The next day, there was news again: Nikolaev arbitrarily left the courtroom, he was imprisoned for ten days. I didn’t know what to think, not being able to even exchange a few words with Valera ...

On March 8, I returned to Moscow - and here was a gift for me: my husband had just been released! He came home tired, depressed, with empty eyes. It was still difficult to get through to Valera, he closed himself even more. At first he even tried to push away:

Don't get involved, I'll take care of everything myself!
But it's not easy to get rid of me.
- I see how you are! Now bear with me...

Much was not clear in that situation, but I did not cut to the quick, doing clarifications. I just tried to be with my husband around the clock. And again, she didn’t keep track ... Valera, hurrying on business, drove into the oncoming lane, and he was deprived of his driver’s license. As a result, the court determined the punishment of fifteen days of arrest and a fine. I went to my husband, brought a parcel ... And there, behind bars, the realization came to Valera of how he had played tricks in recent months! Returned home completely broken...

It seemed to him: wherever he went, he could get into another trouble, his husband was afraid to leave the house. The worst thing is when a person ceases to trust himself, because not only I was surprised by Valera's trick - he himself did not expect this! Nikolaev always controlled himself perfectly, there were no cases when he even shouted at me, it is very difficult to unbalance him. And on the day of the accident, the twenty-fifth of February, as they say, nothing foreshadowed trouble. Then Valera told me: “I don’t know how it happened, I don’t understand ...” The man just broke.

What happened, happened - it was necessary to live on. But Valera completely immersed himself in his sense of guilt, fear for the future: what will happen to him, to us, how to live with this further? He understood that at that moment he could lose everything that was dear to him: his profession, his family, his viewers ... He repeated: “It would be nice if I were twenty years old, but at fifty I’d get into such a mess!” He began to analyze his life, engage in self-criticism. Then he apologized publicly on the Internet for the first time - both to the people who were injured in the accident and to his fans.

And at the meeting he once again admitted his guilt - he was sentenced to a fine of one hundred and fifty thousand rubles, with which Valera fully agreed. I thought that it would get better after the trial, but so far it has not - he cannot forget this nightmare, get out of a state of desperate pain, regret about what happened. I tell him: “Everything happens, let go! It just needs to be experienced!” But his repentance continues...

There are people who stopped communicating with Valera after these incidents. One more blow. But I advise him to treat the loss of such acquaintances philosophically - this is their choice. And real friends and relatives are always there, support. Dasha is constantly in touch with her father. There were also fans from Valera's fan club who wrote to me: "Elechka, we are ready to help in any way we can." It was very pleasant for me, I did not expect such participation from strangers, in general, people.

Then we had Josie - a big and kind alabai. Valera once had a friend - Labrador Rick. But there was an accident, he got hit by a car ... Since then, Nikolaev did not start dogs. And then I went to visit the guys who breed Alabaev, and fell in love at first sight! I was again shocked by another family member: “I wanted a Pomeranian that you can take with you everywhere, and this is twenty Pomeranians in one!” But how could one not fall in love with this big white miracle? Now Valera is joking:

Do you still want spitz?
- Thank you, I have enough Alabai!

We walk with Josie, run on the playground, play - and I see that Valera is gradually coming to life. Recently, with the participation of Nikolaev, the entreprise “Lie to me, baby!” - My husband is busy doing what he loves, and I'm very happy.

There are rumors about your divorce...
I was so tired - saying what they wanted to hear from me:
So we're getting divorced!

And doubts crept in herself: if he behaves so strangely, does he even need a wife? I put myself in front of a choice: “You either give up or move on!” As life has shown, such a choice for both never existed. After everything we had experienced, we even stopped quarreling over trifles. What divorce? Our love has only grown stronger!

At the trial, Valera said: “I thank my wife for understanding everything and being there. I live for her." For both of us, this was a serious lesson: we realized how much we need each other. And in sorrow and in joy. So we have already eaten a fly in the ointment, and a barrel of honey is still ahead of us.

The editors would like to thank the Fundament Group of Companies for their help in organizing the shooting.

I grew up in a family of circus performers and literally lived in the arena since childhood. It is not surprising that it was in the circus that she met her future husband. In 2008, the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard hosted the shooting of the second season of the TV show "Circus with the Stars". One fine day, my mother and I ran into in the hallway with Vladimir Turchinsky and Valery Nikolaev, who participated in the project. I had never seen Valera before: I spent many years traveling around the world, I watched TV very rarely and I had not heard about the TV series Bourgeois's Birthday. But unaware of his media exposure, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

Who is it? - I asked my mother.

Famous actor.

Without expecting it, she blurted out:

Mom, this is my future husband!

We are rooting for you.

He smiled.

Thanks, very nice.

Can i? I didn't participate in the project...

Be my companion, he offered.