Jean-Claude Van Damme fell in love with Irina Bilyk while filming a music video
According to Olga Gorbacheva, Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme took a particular liking to Irina Bilyk while working on the music video for “I Love Him.” The singer recalled details from the 2010 shoot and explained that she herself served as both the translator and the project’s producer.
The story dates back to 2010, when Irina Bilyk and Olga Gorbacheva recorded the duet “I Love Him.” For the music video, they invited Jean-Claude Van Damme—a famous Hollywood actor who was already a major action star at the time. The actor’s participation made the video one of the most notable Ukrainian music projects of that period.
Recently, Olga Gorbacheva recalled that shoot again on the show “Alone with Glamour.” The host asked the artist if Van Damme had tried to flirt with her personally. Gorbacheva replied that he hadn’t—according to her, the actor’s attention was focused specifically on Irina Bilyk. “He wasn’t courting me; he was in love with Irina Bilyk,” Gorbacheva said.
According to the singer, her role during this project was entirely different. She organized the filming, negotiated with the actor, and served as an interpreter. It was Gorbacheva who handled the details related to Van Damme’s participation in the music video. “I was exclusively an interpreter and the project’s producer, because I was the one who arranged for him to appear on set and handled all the details,” she recalled.
Gorbacheva also explained that it was Bilyk herself who wanted to invite Van Damme to appear in the music video. It was an important moment for the Ukrainian singer, and Gorbacheva helped organize the Hollywood star’s participation. She noted that she valued their collaboration and wanted Bilyk to be happy. Interestingly, the whole story with Van Damme wasn’t a coincidence at the time. Negotiations regarding his participation in the music video lasted about two months, and they tried not to publicize his appearance on set in advance. According to the video’s script, Bilyk and Gorbacheva were supposed to try to attract the attention of the character played by Van Damme.
Now, 16 years after the music video’s premiere, Gorbacheva has shared her perspective on this episode. She did not provide details about a possible relationship between the actor and Bilyk, nor did she claim that there was a romance between them. She was referring specifically to her personal observation of Van Damme’s affection for the Ukrainian singer. Incidentally, “I Love Him” may be given a new lease on life. According to Gorbacheva, Bilyk wanted to release a Ukrainian-language version of the song. For the new music video, the singer was considering Leonardo DiCaprio.
Gorbacheva herself suggested an alternative. She believes that Sean Penn, who has actively supported Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war, should be invited to star in the new video. “Right now, she wants to release ‘I Love Him’ in Ukrainian. She wants DiCaprio to star in it. But I think we should cast Sean Penn, because of all he’s done for Ukraine and how he speaks about our people with tears in his eyes,” Gorbacheva said.
Thus, the old music video featuring Van Damme has once again drawn attention to the history of Ukrainian show business. And Gorbacheva’s account added another detail to the well-known shoot—according to her, the Hollywood actor was once particularly taken with Irina Bilyk. Singer Olga Gorbacheva shared this with the project “Alone with Glamour.”
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