Tennis player Daria Kasatkina dated a while ago, saying she was dating girls. Moreover, it turned out that his companion is a famous athlete, figure skater Natalya Zabiyako. In an interview with a YouTube channel “Be careful, Sobchak” Athletes spoke openly about their relationship.
“It was hard to live a double life”
Kasatkina noted that in her childhood and adolescence there was nothing in her environment that could “provoke” a non-heterosexual orientation. According to him, it is often impossible to impose.
“It was difficult to live a double life, I wanted to be one hundred percent myself and not hide anything.
“If I want to share a photo with the person I love, I just do it without thinking about what anyone else thinks.”
Daria added that she went to self-acceptance for a long time due to the pressure of society. It was only recently that he realized his indifference to outside opinion. It also helped her parents easily accept this fact when she opened up to them two years ago.
“You are afraid to share because you understand that they will condemn”
The situation was completely different for Natalya Zabiyako, who could not share her feelings with anyone for more than 10 years, and her family reacted negatively to her confession. For them, according to the athlete himself, it was an unpleasant surprise.
“I realized 10-11 years ago that I like girls, but it was hard to share that with someone. And that’s the worst part: You’re afraid to share it with someone close because you know they’ll be reprimanded.
It’s like living in a cramped room with no windows or doors and throwing yourself at the walls. You think something is wrong with you and worse. You can even get married,” says Natalia.
There really was a marriage in her life, she was married to the director-screenwriter Daniil Grinkin. But family life did not work out, and Zabiyako states that she will divorce even if she adheres to a heterosexual orientation. According to her, her husband demanded that she stay at home, make a living and support her ventures, while Natalya herself, having completed her career, wanted to perform in ice shows.
“You’re feeling and there’s nothing you can do”
The girls told how their acquaintance began. It was Zabiyako who initiated the communication. The athlete explains that he wrote Kasatkina “without thinking about it.”
“Deeply I liked him. I wrote to congratulate him for a tournament, I said that I was watching. And in the autumn Dasha came to Moscow for the tournament, and communication began closer, ”says Natalya.
When immediately asked if she “feels some kind of energy,” Kasatkina replied with a laugh that it was mild.
“You just feel and there is nothing you can do. And no propaganda ban will help here.
I was preparing for the worst, knowing our mentality I thought it would be dark. But everything was not as bad as I thought, ”the tennis player admits.
Daria also noted that she received many promises of support from outside. In particular, the singer Zemfira called him and described his confession as a courageous act. Kasatkina emphasized that she does not see her debut as propaganda. According to him, she is not afraid to come to Russia, as she confesses her orientation, and she believes that she will not be denied entry to the country.
“They took away my dreams”
It is worth noting that Kasatkina, in addition to talking about her personal life, spoke critically about the obligation to compete in international competitions with neutral status. She said that the Russian sports leadership took away her dream of competing under the flag of the Russian Federation.
Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam tournament where they raise your country’s flag and play the anthem when you win and you stand on a pedestal with the trophy. And this is the only tennis tournament outside the Olympics where such a tradition exists. I can’t call myself a patriot – I love my country, I learned my country’s anthem.
When I was little, my main goal was to stand by the cup and watch my country’s flag come down and sing the National Anthem. This dream was taken from me,
Kasatkina explained.
Source: Gazeta
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