Kate Upton's doppelganger reveals she is NOT a mail order bride - but she has been receiving 'a lot of marriage proposals'

PUBLISHED: 11:08 EST, 7 March 2013 | UPDATED: 11:08 EST, 7 March 2013

Last Friday, Kate Upton retweeted a picture posted by her then-unknown doppelganger, a blonde beauty named Ania whose web page mysteriously described her as a 'mail order bride in training'.

Now the 22-year-old Russian student has come out of the woodwork to explain that while her Twitter bio was 'a total joke', she has still been receiving 'a lot of marriage proposals' since her post.

'I looked at my phone and had 100 emails from Twitter,' the Moscovite told Sports Illustrated SwimDaily. 'But it took me a few minutes to realize why that happened.'

Twins: 22-year-old Russian student Ania (right) looks identical to supermodel Kate Upton (left, holding her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover photo) in a picture she posted on Twitter last Friday

The 22-year-old says the idea for the photo came to her when she realized she owned the very same jacket that Miss Upton wore on the magazine cover.

'I've been told I look like her in the past,' she explained. 'But when the Sports Illustrated issue came out and she was wearing the same jacket that is hanging in my closet, I knew [the photo] had to be done.'

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But Ania had no idea how much attention her lookalike picture would generate.

'I didn't think anyone but my friends would see it,' she admits.

Little did she know the supermodel would be so amazed at the uncanny likeness that she would retweet the post within minutes, making Ania an overnight internet sensation.

She has since changed her Twitter bio to read: 'Not actually a mail order bride', but the followers just keep on coming.

'I didn't think anyone but my friends would see it'

She told the website: 'Before the retweet I had 78. I'm currently at 2,600.'

And since the interview took place, the number has already risen to 5,869.

Luckily for Ania, there are worse people to be constantly compared to.

When asked what she thinks of the famously curvy model, Ania said: 'I've been a fan for a while; it's relieving to see someone challenge the stereotype of rail-thin models.'

In the imitation photo, Ania poses wearing just a white ski jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, the open zip of the coat exposing her cleavage.

'Me as Kate Upton,' she tweeted.