Woman who divorced husband to marry stepson welcomes their second child together

A Russian woman has welcomed her second child with her former stepson after she divorced his dad so they could pursue a relationship.

Marina Balmasheva has known her current husband, 23-year-old Vladimir "Vova" Shavyrin, since he was seven years old, but it wasn't until he was in university that the pair struck up a new kind of relationship.

Marina had been married to Vova's father, Alexey Shavyrin, but they split up after Marina became pregnant with Vova's baby.

Instagram/@marina_balmasheva

They welcomed their daughter, Olga, in 2021, and have since continued to show off their relationship online in loved-up pictures and photos of family life - including the occasional throwback.

In one post Marina, 37, shared a snap of her and Vova together from before their relationship began to blossom further.

"Look what I found. I am 23. My husband is 8," she wrote, adding: "Then he left to live in the [Russian mountain range] Urals."

The relationship might be tough for some to wrap their head around, but it obviously works for Marina and Vova as they've now welcomed their second child into the world.

The mum welcomed the new arrival with a post on Instagram showing some details about the child's birth, alongside the caption: "Hello."

Marina announced the news of her second pregnancy last year, sharing a photo with Vova and Olga as they held up a positive pregnancy test.

Instagram/@marina_balmasheva

Another post, which featured a video of the ultrasound, saw Marina reveal that the date of the new baby's conception was the same day as her and Vova's wedding.

Marina's ex-husband Alexey, Vova's father, has previously accused Marina of having 'seduced' his son, saying he had 'not had a girlfriend before'.

Alexey added that he would have 'forgiven her cheating, if it wasn't [his] son'.

He claimed: "She was running to my son's bed from our bedroom when I was sleeping. After that she was coming back and lying in bed with me as if nothing had happened."

Meanwhile, Marina told her 600,000-plus followers that she both did and didn't regret that she 'destroyed the family'.

"I was ashamed that I killed the stability of 'mum and dad'," she wrote. "Did I want to return to my ex? No. Do I feel anger and hatred towards him? Not any longer."

Marina and Alexey are said to have adopted five children together when they were married, but Marina has declined to say whether she has anything to do with the children now.