Ottawa woman Elena Komleva says she’s been inundated with messages on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, after a 29-year-old woman also named Elena Komleva apparently placed an ad on a Russian website seeking a man to impregnate her.
Last week, U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail reported that an Elena Komleva of Cheliabinsk, Russia, had placed the unusual classified ad in a purported effort to stop her mother from nagging her about grandchildren. She invited men to submit offers, with her mother choosing the winner.
When other international media latched on to the story, several mistakenly accompanied their online articles with photos of Elena Komleva in Ottawa, taken from her Facebook page and blog.
The 23-year-old communications student said she first realized something bizarre was happening when some of her YouTube videos started getting shared widely late last week.
She said a man wrote her a message saying he would be happy to impregnate her.
“I thought he was crazy,” Komleva said in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “I was like, ‘Nice joke.’”
But when Komleva searched her name online, she came across an article about the Russian ad and was surprised to see that someone else had the same first and last name.
A few days later, Komleva started getting thousands of messages and “likes” on social media. Her Facebook profile spiked from 300 followers to 9,000 in a matter of a few days, she said.
“Somebody gave me a link saying, ‘Oh, you’ve made it to Danish news.’”
That’s when Komleva, a part-time model, began seeing all her photos from Facebook, Instagram and other sites posted with news articles about the bizarre impregnation ad.
None of the news outlets that have incorrectly published Komleva’s photos have contacted her to verify that she is the same woman, Komleva says, and she doesn’t even know if the Russian Komleva is a real person.
But Komleva is taking her newfound publicity in stride, and even posted a YouTube video in which she thanks those who have written “nice comments” following “some recent events in some global newspapers.”
However, she is also concerned about her reputation and wants to set the record straight.
“To be honest, it’s kind of strange,” Komleva said. “I don’t want people to think I’m desperate and want a guy to get her pregnant.”
And certainly not by those means, either. Komleva said her mother has always told her to be in a committed relationship before starting a family.
On Wednesday, Komleva posted another short video to YouTube, stating she would like to find someone for a “serious relationship,” and explained the qualities that she’s looking for in a “perfect soulmate.”
