Putin Seems to Accidentally Hint at Secret Love Children

A seemingly innocuous remark made by Vladimir Putin has fueled rumors that he has two secret young sons with an Olympic gymnast.

The Kremlin officially says that the Russian president’s only children are his two adult daughters with ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya. But a report earlier this year from the Dossier Center, a Russian investigative outlet, detailed the lives of Ivan, 9, and Vladimir, 5, two boys it says are Putin’s children with former rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva.

However, Putin has never publicly acknowledged the sons and has for years denied having any romantic ties to Kabaeva.

The autocrat admitted, though, in a recent interview on live TV that he likes to watch fairytale movies with his “little ones,” which some commentators are saying is a slip-up reference to the alleged love children, according to The U.S. Sun.

“Our historic fairytales and epic tales are being revived. I myself sometimes watch these with pleasure with my little ones,” Putin said in Russian, according to The Sun.

State media channel Russia Today later translated Putin’s words as “my junior family members,” according to The Sun.

According to the Dossier Center’s investigation, the two boys live isolated lives at a number of residences around the country. They travel on private jets and yachts. The boys are educated by tutors and cared for by governesses.

Although they don’t often get to see their parents, they appreciate the rare moments they spend with their father, the Dossier Center reported.

Kabaeva, 41, and Putin, 72, are speculated to have been involved since at least 2008, well before the Russian leader and his wife divorced in 2014.

Putin is also alleged to have a third secret child as the result of an affair with his cleaner Svetlana Krivonogikh. The 21-year-old woman, Elizaveta Krivonogikh, is reportedly living as a DJ in Paris under a pseudonym, according to an investigation by the Ukrainian TV station TSN.