In her later years: Liliya Sandulesa secretly wed for the fifth time — the couple met online during the war
The People's Artist of Ukraine has revealed she has been officially married for three years. A story about how personal life and culture continue even during wartime — according to UNN and a YouTube interview.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
February 20, 2026 · 2 min read
What is known
People's Artist of Ukraine Liliya Sandulesa announced that she has registered her fifth official marriage. She told this, according to UNN, in an interview with Rostyslav Kalatsynskyi for his YouTube channel. The artist is 67 years old and, she says, has already been married for three years.
"I've been married for three years. We met long ago on the phone, in messaging apps, on YouTube. He listened to my songs, we talked. At first very rarely, then we met, and that's how it happened. Apart from my family, relatives and friends, I didn't tell anyone"
— Liliya Sandulesa, People's Artist of Ukraine
Details and context
Sandulesa said the meeting took place online during the war — via messaging apps and YouTube, where her future husband listened to her songs. She does not disclose his name or the place where the marriage was registered, saying only that he is slightly older than her and that with him she feels like a real woman.
"In my later years, when we found each other, I am very grateful to God. He is a little older than me. I never thought that after so many years God would give me a person who would be close to my soul"
— Liliya Sandulesa, People's Artist of Ukraine
Why it matters
This story is more than a personal announcement. For a public figure whose career is tied to national culture, such decisions reflect a broader phenomenon: how people who shape public discourse preserve privacy and find support amid war and uncertainty. Media references to the artist's past relationships (including her links with Ivo Bobul in the 1990s, which were covered by the press) show that public interest in the lives of creative people continues, but today it coexists with a call for respect for personal privacy.
It is also a reminder that even in times of hardship, culture and human relationships do not stop. How much the media should probe such stories is a question of balancing public interest with the right to privacy for public figures.
Source: interview of Liliya Sandulesa by Rostyslav Kalatsynskyi (YouTube), report by the UNN news agency.
