Russian ballerina who has 'captivated' love split Roman Abramovich is pictured in a Chelsea scarf as she arrives at Wembley to cheer on his team in the Community Shield
- Chelsea owner Abramovich, 50, and his third wife Dasha Zhukova, 36 announced their shock split this week
- Some are predicting it could be the most expensive divorce in history as she could get hundreds of millions
- Russian media reports have now said Russian billionaire is interested in married ballerina Diana Vishneva, 41
- Abramovich's circle have rebuffed the talks as 'total nonsense' and there is no evidence for any of the claims
A married ballerina said to have sparked the interest of newly-single Roman Abramovich cheered on his Chelsea team in their first game of the new football season on Sunday.
Abramovich, 50, who is worth £7billion, and his magazine editor wife Dasha Zhukova, 36, announced this week that they 'amicably' agreed to part ways, but will continue to work together for their joint businesses and two children.
In the days since their separation, Russian media have claimed Abramovich is 'captivated' by glamorous ballerina Diana Vishneva, 41.
Ms Vishneva is currently in London with her husband Konstantin while performing in Anna Karenina with the Mariinsky Ballet at the Royal Opera House.
She posted photos of herself and other dancers during a visit to Chelsea's match with Arsenal on Sunday. It is not believed Abramovich was at the match, and he was most recently pictured in St Petersburg.
The dancer was first linked with Abramovich three years ago in Russian media reports, but those were they dismissed at the time by her father and the Chelsea tycoon, whose friends have also denied the latest claims.
Diana Vishneva, who is said to have sparked the interest of Roman Abramovich in reports in Russia, was pictured at Chelsea's match against Arsenal on Saturday. Club owner Abramovich's circle have denied claims the pair are linked
Ms Vishneva posted photos of her visit, along with her fellow ballet stars, to the football match. She is currently in London performing in Anna Karenina with the Mariinsky Ballet at the Royal Opera House
Russian media claims Roman Abramovich is interested in married ballerina Diana Vishneva. His circle denied the claims
Diana Vishneva, a star dancer, was previously linked to the billionaire three years ago. Those reports were also denied
Roman Abramovich and his wife Daria Zhukova announced their were splitting yesterday amid claims they were living separate lives. Dasha was pictured boarding her husband's yacht last month (right) but he has since been seen attending events in St Petersburg on his own (left)
Abramovich's circle have rebuffed the talk as 'total nonsense' and there is no evidence for any of the claims.
He is a known supporter of ballet and the arts, and previously paid £150,000-a-year to join the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where some of the world's most famous dancers perform.
A spokesman for 50-year-old Abramovich refused to comment when the stories circulating in Russia were put to him.
Asked by Ren TV in Moscow if there was a reason for their separation, his spokesman was quoted as saying: 'No, and even if I was to know it, it concerns no one but them.'
Ms Vishneva declined to comment on the claims made in Russia.
Some are already predicting Abramovich's split from Dasha could lead to the world's most expensive ever divorce, with the 41-year-old possibly in line for a payout worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
The magnitude of any payout, however, is likely to depend on if the divorce is heard in the Russian courts, which may favour Roman, or the notoriously tough English courts.
It may also depend on whether Dasha signed a pre-nup — something which Raymond Tooth, the lawyer who represented Roman's second wife Irina Malandina in her 2007 divorce against Roman, said he thought was likely.
Fiercely private, the couple's 2008 marriage — which produced Aaron, seven, and Leah, four — was kept secret for six years. Indeed, Dasha has since refused to talk about either her enigmatic husband or their life together.
In a joint statement, the couple said: 'After ten years together, the two of us have made the difficult decision to separate, but we remain close friends, parents and partners in the projects we developed together.'
Zhukova has been seen partying with friends in recent weeks. A friend shared a photo of a laughing Dasha (centre) with friends including model Karlie Kloss (second from the left), socialite Derek Blasberg (top) and his boyfriend Nick Brown (left) two days ago during a meet-up in the Hamptons
A smiley-looking Dasha (pictured, far right) spent last week without her husband on US businessman David Geffen's yacht Rising Sun, with guests including Oprah, Diane Von Furstenberg and Disney boss Bob Iger
Just a few months ago, the 36-year-old was spotted on a quiet dinner with boyfriend of supermodel Karlie Kloss - Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The oligarch consulted his second wife, Irina, about the split.
A neighbour, who previously lived near Abramovich and his ex in their Fyning Hill estate near Rogate, in West Sussex, revealed the tycoon had been working out details of his latest separation for 'some time'.
The man, who declined to be named, but remains on good terms with Irina — who got the estate as part of her 2007 settlement, said to be worth around £150 million — told the Mail: 'I'm assured that Abramovich and his wife split after Christmas, and have essentially been living separate lives for most of this year.
'Apparently, it has been a bit of a nightmare because they had to tell their two children and he had to also find an appropriate occasion to tell the five children he has with Irina.'
The news comes one week after Abramovich attended a social event in St Petersburg without Dasha.
Meanwhile, she has been seen enjoying herself on a night out in New York and was spotted back in March having dinner with the boyfriend of supermodel Karlie Kloss, investment banker Joshua Kushner, whose brother is married to Ivanka Trump.
She spent her birthday in New York with her two children and was photographed not wearing her wedding ring on June 8.
The couple confirmed their separation in a joint statement, describing it as a 'difficult decision to separate'. A care-free Zhukova is pictured here beaming in a friend's social media post in Antibes last month
Dasha wasn't wearing a wedding ring when she posed for this photograph while drinking coffee on June 8
Zhukova looked care-free as she partied with Katy Perry (left) and Derek Blasberg on July 4
Dasha was pictured with Ivanka Trump and her friend Karlie Kloss at the US Open in New York last September
Of course, for all the reportedly amicable nature of the split, that hasn't stopped tongues wagging about how those very sizeable assets may be divided up.
Abramovich owns properties all over the world and the couple have been reported to throw lavish parties on their £1 billion luxury yacht, Eclipse — at 536ft the second-largest in the world — which boasts a helipad, submarine, hot tubs and its own disco dancefloor. Holidays are spent on the Caribbean island of St Barts.
When not bobbing around at sea, they travel in a £55 million private Boeing 767, the interior of which is reported to be a vision of deluxe chestnut wood and gold fittings, and drive around in Roman's £1.5 million custom-built Ferrari.
On land, Abramovich shares his wife's more down-to-earth hobby for cycling, but again, no expense is spared — his bike is custom-built and cost an estimated £15,000.
Even their pet dog is a pedigree corgi worth around £950. Then there's the shopping. In 2008, it was reported Abramovich went on a £60 million spree at Christie's and Sotheby's in New York, snapping up Lucian Freud's painting Benefits Supervisor Sleeping for £17 million and Francis Bacon's Triptych (1976) for £43 million a day later.
Not content with their £125 million Grade II-listed West London home — in Billionaires' Row near Kensington Palace — Abramovich was last year granted permission to transform his 'miserable' swimming pool into a £28 million subterranean complex.
As for New York, he wasn't so lucky. His plan for a £58 million mega-mansion was branded 'a whole new level of egregious consumption'.
Abramovich has been seen at events alone in recent months. He is pictured at the 2017 Kinotavr Film Festival in Sochi in June
It comes one week after Abramovich, 50, attended a social event in St Petersburg without Zhukova, as locals took selfies with the billionaire
The Russian billionaire was told by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission that his proposal to turn three landmarked townhouses — bought over a period of 18 months — into one property was an 'unjustified tear-down'.
Roman was first introduced to Dasha at a dinner party in 2005, while he was still married to Irina Malandina, a former air stewardess.
At the point they met, his marriage to Irina was already said to be on the rocks.
The daughter of a wealthy Russian oil magnate and scientist mother, Dasha was born into the Russian intelligentsia, studied at a top U.S. university and abandoned plans to become a doctor to launch her own fashion brand.
Today, she is a renowned art collector, the editor-in-chief of her own magazine, Garage, and owns an arts centre in Russia's Gorky Park. Her non-profit Iris Foundation is dedicated to promoting contemporary culture.
For Roman, orphaned at the age of four and said to be sensitive about his lack of education — despite business skills that turned him into a billionaire in his homeland almost overnight — intellectual, fun-loving Dasha seemed the perfect foil.
Now sources say she may have simply tired of her gilded life as wife of one of the world's richest men.
While he inhabited a macho environment with like-minded male friends and associates, she thrived in the company of artists. Abramovich biographer Chris Hutchins, co-author of The Billionaire From Nowhere, says his research suggested women would always come second to work. He doesn't drink or smoke and is no playboy. It's work and business.
Hutchins continues: 'Until now, Dasha has been content to live a gilded life alongside one of the richest men on the planet.
The Chelsea FC owner and main owner of private investment firm Millhouse LLC, Abramovich, married Zhukova in 2008 at a private ceremony. They are pictured together in happier times in 2014
Chelsea's Premier League title win last season is their 14th major trophy under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, who bought the club in the summer of 2003 when they were on the brink of administration
The gifts he has bought her include a $14 million Giacometti sculpture and a group of 40 paintings by the Russian artist Ilya Kabakov ($30-60 million each).'
Little is known about Roman's first wife, Olga. The couple married in 1987, but were divorced just three years later in 1990. They did not have any children together.
In 1988, as perestroika opened up opportunities for privatisation in the Soviet Union, Abramovich and Olga set up a sucessful company making dolls. Some reports have suggested his first wife received a two-bed flat and just two years' maintenance.
After this divorce, Roman started investing in other businesses, from oil companies to pig farms, then specialising in the trading of oil and metals — which made him his fabulous wealth.
Roman and second wife Irina married in 1991. They split in 2007 amid reports that he was dating Dasha, then aged 25.
Much speculation followed as to how much their divorce settlement would be worth, with it eventually being reported that Irina had been awarded £155 million — believed to be one of the largest settlements in the world.
Her divorce lawyer, Raymond Tooth, refuses to discuss the divorce settlement but told the Mail that Abramovich's latest divorce could cost him just a fraction of his wealth, even if it amounts to hundreds of millions of pounds.
He said his 'gut feeling' was that any divorce would most likely take place in Russia where pre-nuptial agreements are honoured without question and the courts don't award maintenance to wives.
He added: 'There are probably two countries [where it could take place] — England and Russia. There's probably most certainly a pre-nuptial agreement. In Russia, if you enter into that sort of agreement, that would be the end of the story. You cannot get maintenance in Russia for women, only for children.
'But I doubt whether there will be a fight — and there will be an agreement. It won't be billions. But it certainly could be hundreds of millions.'
One of Britain's top divorce lawyers, Ayesha Vardag — whose clientele includes aristocrats, footballers and business tycoons — said Dasha could get more if the divorce was heard in an English court.
'If we're looking at the jurisdiction being in Russia, then he should be able to maintain a much more conservative pay-out than in England.
'One reason is because England is seen as extremely fair. The English courts see them as equal partners. They will look at what they have accumulated over the years of that marriage and will look to share it out.
'That's the yardstick they are working from. In that context, you could be looking at a huge sum, potentially. If it happens in Russia, she might get an awful lot less.'
No trophy wife: Born to a scientist and an oil trader, Abramovich's popular socialite ex is 'exceptionally wealthy in her own right'
Born in Moscow, to an scientist mother and oil trader father, Darya or 'Dasha' moved to US with her mother at the age of 10
Born in Moscow, to a scientist mother and oil trader father, Darya or 'Dasha' moved to US with her mother at the age of 10 when her parents split up.
No trophy wife, Dasha attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with honours with degrees in Slavic Studies and Literature.
Dasha met Roman in 2005 when he was married to his second wife Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina, reportedly at a New Year party organised by her oil magnate father.
She was dating former Russian tennis star Marat Safin at the time.
The power couple became officially linked in 2007 after Roman had divorced.
In February 2009 Dasha, who previously owned her own fashion label Kova & T, was made editor of avant garde fashion magazine, POP.
However, she got everyone talking when she sensationally quit after just three issues.
Then in 2014 she caused uproar by posing for a photograph, in which the chair she sat in was formed from a black female mannequin, in online fashion publication Buro 24/7.
Both Dasha and the publication were accused of racism and she later released a statement saying: 'This photograph, which has been published completely out of context, is of an art work intended specifically as a commentary on gender and racial politics.
'I utterly abhor racism and would like to apologise to those offended by my participation in this shoot.'
A popular socialite, Dasha has regularly been seen out and about with some of society and fashion's finest.
She now runs her own magazine Garage - as well as an arts centre in Russia - which is part-funded by her husband.
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