Marianna Budanova spoke for the first time about the aftermath of the poisoning and her relationship with Kirill Budanov
Marianna Budanova, a psychologist and the wife of the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and former head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, has publicly commented for the first time on the consequences of her poisoning. She admitted that she still experiences certain health issues, but did not disclose any details.
In addition, Marianna Budanova spoke about spending her free time with her husband, his culinary skills, and explained how the couple manages to avoid conflicts.
She discussed this in the latest episode of the show “Tour with the Stars,” answering questions about what life is like with Kirill Budanov.
According to Marianna, quite some time has passed since they first met, and during that time, both have made significant progress in their professional careers. At the same time, the couple continues to support one another and tries to find opportunities to spend time together even with their busy work schedules.
“You know, I always remember when we first met—he was a captain back then. A lot of time has passed since then, especially in terms of our professional growth... I say ‘our’ because we’re walking through life together, supporting each other and making time—because we always try to devote a little more time to the things that matter. We try to find free hours in our busy schedules to spend time together doing everyday things, watching movies when we can, having dinner together, and so on,” she said.
The psychologist also shared who in their family is usually in charge of cooking. According to her, Kirill Budanov really loves to cook, but she also enjoys it herself.
“It varies. Kirill Oleksiyovych really loves to cook. I don’t always let him do it, because I enjoy it myself. It’s a kind of therapy for me after a hard day at work,” Marianna noted.
Marianna Budanova assured us that there are practically no serious arguments in their relationship. She attributed this, in part, to her profession as a psychologist and their mutual understanding of each other’s personalities and needs.
“We don’t really have arguments because I’m a psychologist and I understand how to smooth things over. Over all these years of living together, my husband also understands me—my temperament, my personality—and we try to adapt to each other’s needs and meet each other halfway—that’s the most important thing. If you love someone, you try to make them happy and meet them halfway in a way that makes sense to that specific person,” she emphasized.
At the same time, she admitted that life with a husband who has a dangerous profession has its own unique challenges. According to her, even the feeling of fear changes over time in a family of officers.
“Since we’re a family of officers, I want to say that our sense of fear is distorted. In reality, you shouldn’t take us as an example—these are unique emotions that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Marianna explained briefly.
Separately, Kirill Budanov’s wife commented for the first time on her health following the poisoning that occurred three years ago. She said the effects are still being felt, but she declined to specify exactly what problems remain.
Marianna thanked the Ukrainian doctors who helped her recover from what she went through.
“I won’t go into details, but there are still some issues. Thank God, it was Ukrainian doctors who treated me and got me back on my feet, and I am infinitely grateful to them. We are still working closely with them through this journey,” Budanova’s wife noted.
Recently, Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kirill Budanov, received a diploma from the School of Strategic Architecture at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School. She graduated from the program’s tenth, anniversary cohort, which brings together representatives from government, business, and other sectors important to society. Kirill Budanov himself, as well as Martin Oberg, the Swedish Ambassador to Ukraine, were present at the graduation ceremony.
