14 DAY TRIAL // A little over a month ago, reports emerged that “Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke was seriously considering tying the knot for the third time with his current girlfriend, model Elena Kuletskaya. As it turns out, Rourke is actually dating another woman, also a model, named Anastassija Makarenko, whom he considers the closest thing to a “gift from heaven,” as he says in a new interview with People magazine.
For some reason or another, the magazine says, Anastassija’s identity got twisted in the media and almost the entire world thought he was dating Elena, though in fact he was not. Anastassija and Mickey have been together for the past six months, and are more or less in an official relationship, the actor already having met her parents and gotten their approval. In fact, Rourke says, though refusing to talk marriage, he wouldn’t trade her for 20 Oscars.
“A year after his emotional comeback performance earned him a Golden Globe for ‘The Wrestler,’ Mickey Rourke was once again on cloud nine at this year’s show, thanks to the new love he squired down the red carpet. Rourke’s girlfriend – who has widely been misidentified on the Internet – is Russian-born model Anastassija Makarenko, Rourke reveals exclusively to People,” the magazine writes. And Rourke simply can’t get enough of her.
“She’s a gift from heaven. Obviously she’s a very beautiful woman. But she’s got the biggest heart, she’s got a great family, she’s really close to her mother and father – they’re great people. I wouldn’t trade her in for 20 Academy Awards,” the star gushes. Makarenko reciprocates the feelings, saying the actor is, despite his bad boy image, one of the most tender men she’s ever met and an excellent boyfriend because of it.
“[My parents] loved him. He’s the most beautiful man in the world, he’s a sweetheart, and the best boyfriend,” the model goes on to say. As of now, there is no talk of getting married for the two lovebirds, but things could be seen as heading into that direction.