Interesting facts about Olena Zelenska, five years on from the president's inauguration – photos
Five years ago today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was inaugurated as Ukraine's sixth president, and his wife, Olena Zelenska, became the youngest First Lady in the entire history of independent Ukraine.
Olena had no desire to get involved in politics or government work. Back in 2019, she intended to stay out of the spotlight and get on with her screenwriting. But life had other plans for her.
TabloID has collected the most interesting facts about the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
Not an architect but a screenwriter
Olena Zelenska, 46, was born Olena Kiyashko and raised in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. She enrolled in the civil engineering department of a local university and graduated with a degree in architecture, but has never worked as an architect.
Instead, Olena began writing comedy scripts in the final years of her course, finished her degree, and went off on tour. Together with her husband, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – now president of Ukraine – she worked for TV production company Kvartal 95 Studio, where she was involved in high-profile projects.
Zelenska told the BBC in an interview in 2019 that she enjoyed her job and wanted to continue doing it after her husband won the election.
Unexpected news from the internet
Olena Zelenska found out about her husband's plans to go into politics and run for president the same way everyone else did – on the internet. She recalled that the family were on holiday, celebrating the New Year 2019, and she was shocked by the messages she received on the morning of 1 January.
Zelenska had predicted this decision and realised there would be no point trying to dissuade her husband. When she determined the full depth of his intentions, she calmed down.
Strong student love
Olena and Volodymyr studied at the same school in parallel classes, so they knew each other slightly. But their relationship began when they were students at university. Zelenska recalled that a chance meeting on the street once brought them together.
They dated for the next eight years. Volodymyr was in no hurry to propose, and Olena didn’t rush him. She says they talked about getting married "at some point".
The couple got married in 2003. Together, they had a daughter, Oleksandra, and a son, Kyrylo. Volodymyr won the heart of his beloved with his frankness and ability to keep his word, not by making impossible promises.
Her phobia of cycling
When Volodymyr became president in 2019, the Zelenskyy family tried not to change their habits. That included sport, which had been a big part of the couple's life. Being active together allowed them to unwind emotionally and at the same time recharge for the next working day.
Olena loved going to the gym and swimming with her husband, but she didn't share his passion for cycling, although she really wanted to try it. The truth is that having once been injured cycling, the First Lady has a slight phobia of bikes.
The role of the First Lady
Despite her desire to stay out of the limelight and continue with her screenwriting, Olena Zelenska wasn’t able to do that. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inauguration as President of Ukraine took place on 20 May 2019. After that, she took on completely different responsibilities.
The new First Lady initially chose three areas for her work: improving school meals, cultural diplomacy, and work within Ukraine. She accompanied her husband on work trips and established friendly relationships with other first ladies, particularly Brigitte Macron.
Cleaning as meditation
For Olena Zelenska, as for all Ukrainians, the full-scale war has brought new challenges. Since February 2022, Zelenska has been fully committed to her political work. She has a particular focus on mental health and has launched programmes to train more mental health professionals.
In an interview with The Village in 2023, Olena Zelenska spoke about the habits that help her distract herself. They turned out to be ordinary household jobs such as cleaning and washing dishes.
The First Lady says when she needs to clear her head, she first cleans and tidies up everything around her. She finds washing dishes calming. And she can’t pick up the phone with wet hands!
Avoiding social media
During and after her husband's election campaign, Olena Zelenska faced hate and even abuse on social media. Some people began to write baseless, angry comments to her that would make her heart race. She didn't understand why this was happening and tried not to read them, but her hands kept reaching for the phone.
The full-scale invasion changed all that. For security reasons, it became necessary to turn off all gadgets and forget about them for a while. Now, Zelenska does not use social media at all. She says she only writes and approves posts and doesn’t read the comments.
Love for Ukrainian brands
When it comes to fashion, Olena Zelenska is rightly called an ambassador for Ukrainian brands. She explained back in 2021 that fashion helps to establish cultural ties between countries. The Ukrainian fashion business is a vast industry that provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of people.
On a recent official visit to Serbia, for example, the First Lady chose a stylish suit from Ukrainian brand A.M.G. with an unusually wide lapel stretching from the collar to the hem of the jacket.
Zelenska is quite happy to appear in the same outfit several times – she previously wore the outfit at a meeting in Sweden. In addition, the First Lady of Ukraine loves vyshyvankas, the traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts that are part of Ukrainian national dress.
Olena Zelenska continues her work for the state today. At the same time, she tries to be just a mum.
The First Lady recently revealed that she helps her son with his homework in the evenings and sometimes gets upset with her daughter, who is now a university student and has a boyfriend.
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