A Russian influencer has come under fire after announcing to her Instagram followers that she is now in a relationship with her stepson.
Marina Balmasheva, 35, had hoped to gain support from her 416,000 followers, but instead was met with critical comments after she shared a before-and-after post of the pair.
Per news.com.au, Marina first met current boyfriend Vladimir 13 years ago when he was seven years old and she was 22. Vladimir is the son of Marina's ex-husband, Alexey Shavyrin, with whom she lived with for over 10 years before their relationship ended in divorce.
During their marriage, Marina helped raise stepson Vladimir.
In an Instagram post, she shared a split image that showed both Marina and Vladimir 13 years ago when he was just seven, alongside a more recent snap of them cuddling.
Translated from Russian to English, part of the post reads: "You never know how life will turn out and when you will meet a person who makes you smile.
"I know that some will judge us, others will support us, but we are happy and wish you to be as well."
In the caption, Marina defending their relationship by saying how the couple are very much in love, and that they are not only currently planning their own wedding, but also plan on having children in the future.
And despite many of the comments being written in Russian, when translated by news.com.au, they were largely critical of couple's relationship.
One commenter with the handle 'svetlana_nakhshumova' commented: "[Translated] What shocks me most is that this boy grew up before her very eyes."
And another Instagram user with the handle 'oksanaburhanova22' questioned what Vladimir's parents thought of their relationship.
Per the Daily Mail, the influencer hails from the western Russian region of Krasnodar Krai, and amassed her huge following after documenting her weight-loss journey.
Marina also reportedly adopted her ex-husband Alexey's five children when they were together, and she has revealed that she continues to raise these children.
Speaking out about his ex-wife and son's relationship, Alexey told Russian talk show Pryamoy Efir that he found out about their relationship in March of this year (translated). He said (translated):
"I could not fall asleep one night when I heard them having sex. Then I understood that Marina was cheating on me with my son.
"A few minutes later she just came and lay down next to me. I didn’t tell her a word that night."
