Maria Kirilenko On Dumping Alex Ovechkin Over Instagram Photo: Nyet

In case you haven't heard, Alex Ovechkin and tennis player Maria Kirilenko announced their split Monday. Goodbye, incredibly athletic Russian power couple. An SI report said that the breakup occurred over Ovechkin's Instagram photo with another girl, but according to Kirilenko, that's false.

Russian Machine Never Breaks translated part of this Sovetsky Sport interview, and Kirilenko scoffed at the idea that one photo of Ovechkin, with Russian gymnast Karolina Sevastyanova, ruined their relationship.

Here's an excerpt. "Sasha" refers to Ovechkin:

Maria, can you comment on the story about the pictures with Sasha and [gymnast Karolina Sevastyanova] on social networks, which are being so vigorously discussed in the media?

Maria Kirilenko: Believe me, over the years I have seen so many pictures of Sasha in the company of young ladies, that I have gotten used to it. That is normal. We are public figures, and people often want to take pictures with us. This is the first time I heard about this girl, and I made my decision to break up the engagement long before these pictures appeared on the social networks. It is laughable to point to them as the main reason behind the breakup – after three years together couples do not break up over a couple of pictures. There are much more significant reasons. I will not go into any more details about them. But let's just say it is not a secret for anybody that Sasha has certain habits and particulars of behavior that I did not consider worth tolerating anymore.

That last sentence is a solid passive-aggressive burn. So, why did the two separate? Kirilenko wouldn't elaborate beyond "a lot of reasons."

[ Russian Machine Never Breaks]

Photo via Instagram