Vyacheslav Malafeev experienced a terrible tragedy in 2011, when his first wife Marina Bezborodova died in a car accident. A few months later, the ex-star of Zenit and the Russian national team again found family happiness.

Their relationship with Catherine seemed ideal, but in recent years everything has deteriorated sharply, and his wife even suspected Vyacheslav of cheating on him with Guf’s ex-wife.

Tragedy with the first wife

Malafeev was the personification of that bright young Zenit of the early 2000s, along with Andrei Arshavin, Alexander Kerzhakov, Vladimir Bystrov and others. In 2001, the St. Petersburg team, unexpectedly for many, became bronze medalists of the Russian Championship, and two years later Vyacheslav received the Goalkeeper of the Year award named after the great Lev Yashin.

With Zenit, Malafeev won the UEFA Cup and Super Cup, became the national champion four times and won the Russian Cup three times. In 2011, ESPN named him one of the top five goalkeepers in the world. By an evil irony of fate, it was that year that Vyacheslav lost his wife Marina. They met more than 10 years before the tragedy, got married in 2001 and raised two children – Ksenia and Maxim.

Actually, it was in the year of the wedding that Vyacheslav’s career took off sharply. And this can hardly be called a coincidence. Marina quit her job for the sake of her family and focused on daily worries. On March 17, 2011, she was returning home at night after celebrating a friend’s birthday and was driving the car at a very high speed. At some point, Marina lost control and the springboard flew through a snowdrift, first into a billboard, and then into a tree. The girl died on the spot.

Vyacheslav Malafeev and his wife Marina / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Dmitry Koshcheev

The idyll was replaced by problems

The loss of his wife happened just a year after his mother passed away. Malafeev experienced two nightmares in a short period of time, but did not break down. Moreover, a couple of months later he met DJ Ekaterina Komyakova, who is 10 years younger than the football player. In 2012 they got married. Soon the couple had a son, Alex, and a year later the couple officially announced that Catherine had adopted Vyacheslav’s two other children.

At first everything was perfect. The children accepted their new mother, and the couple did not hide the fact that they were absolutely happy in their marriage. The idyll was disrupted by the misfortune that happened to Catherine in 2019. She was expecting another child, but the doctors, after performing an ultrasound, discovered after some time that the baby’s heart had stopped beating. The couple was heartbroken, and Catherine wrote on social networks that she “would not wish anyone to go through this.”

The troubles didn’t end there. Malafeev suffered a very difficult coronavirus infection in 2021. He was hospitalized with double pneumonia – one lung was damaged by 40 percent, and the other by as much as 70.

Vyacheslav Malafeev with his wife Ekaterina / Photo: © Personal archive of Vyacheslav Malafeev

Divorce celebrated with a party

Fortunately, Vyacheslav coped with the disease, although his relationship with Catherine clearly went wrong. Then the ex-Zenith goalkeeper began to be suspected of treason. The fact is that he went to the “Stars in Africa” show, where rapper Guf’s ex-wife Aiza Dolmatova clearly flirted with him. The blogger herself flatly refused to acknowledge her intimate relationship with Malafeev. Actually, Vyacheslav adhered to the same position. Nevertheless, Catherine published the following post on social networks.

– My dears, I will be honest with you. I don’t want to hide the truth anymore. Slava and I haven’t lived together for a week now. We took a break. I don’t know what will happen next. This is not an easy decision for me, so don’t ask questions. When the time comes, I’ll share,” the girl noted.

– I’m filing for divorce! I don’t want to blame or justify anyone, but you can’t live like this! You can’t build happiness on ruins,” Malafeev later wrote.

Then there were many rumors regarding whether they were getting a divorce or not. The couple themselves first confirmed the information, and then it turned out that they gave the marriage a second chance and even went on a joint vacation at sea. However, all attempts to maintain the relationship ultimately turned out to be unsuccessful, as Ekaterina reported on social networks.

– Our story is over. As a rule, such moments are perceived tragically in every home. Because when the story of great love, friendship, partnership ends, when people create for more than 12 years, give each other care and love, and then decide to be honest with themselves… So, I speak for myself, I would not want this the day crossed out all the warmth that had existed over the years. I would like this to become a new stage in our friendly relations. Our task now is to preserve all the values ​​that we put into our feelings and relationships. “We are opening a new era,” said Malafeev’s now ex-wife.

It’s funny that Vyacheslav and Ekaterina threw a grand party in honor of their divorce, to which they invited many friends. There they burned photos together, drank champagne and, judging by the video, had a great time listening to the songs “I’m Free” and “Districts-Quarters.” And why not, actually?