the love story of a Ukrainian woman and an American, which began on the day of
The love story of a Ukrainian woman and an American who got married in Ukraine
Photo: beskhmelnytsina_olha
In February 2022, Ukrainian director and producer Olga Bezhmelnytsina and American engineer Ethan Bregman spent a romantic weekend in Venice. It was their first official date. After three days together, they parted ways: Olga returned to Kyiv, and Ethan – to New York.
On February 23, Ethan dared to take an important step – he wrote Olga a message in which he confessed his feelings and offered to start a serious relationship. But Olga decided to answer the next morning after a busy evening at the film premiere.
However, the morning of February 24 began with the sounds of explosions – Russia invaded Ukraine.
How their love story developed during the war, told in The New York Times.
“I received a message that he wanted to be with me at the moment when my whole world turned upside down“, Olga recalls.
The woman decided to stay in Kyiv and work as a fixer – a person who helps international journalists with translation, organization of interviews and explanation of local realities. She has worked with photographers Ron Haviv of The Economist and Heidi Levine of The Washington Post. In parallel, she began to document the horrors of war for her film “Overcoming the Darkness”, which premiered in June 2022.
In addition, together with her friend Natalia Libet, Olga finally founded her own film company, which she had dreamed of for many years.
Telling Ethan that she would stay in Kyiv and work in the most dangerous places was one of the most difficult moments in their relationship. But Ethan, although worried, supported her decision.
“He understood that I would not change my mind, and he respected that“, says Olga.
Ethan was constantly worried about the woman. He woke up every day checking when she was last online so he knew she was alive. During the first year of the war, Ethan kept Olga at a distance – they met in safer countries like Poland. Olga did not want him to come to Ukraine, as she did not want to further disturb his parents.
In October 2022, the couple went on a trip to Portugal with Ethan’s parents. After this trip, he realized that he wanted to marry Olga.
“You fit perfectly into my family, and I can’t imagine my life without youeh,” he told her.
In February 2023, while traveling to Italy with friends, Ethan proposed to Olga. After a toast in honor of their friends who supported Ukraine, he turned to Olga, saying that they had visited 17 countries together in a year, and that he wanted to continue these trips only with her.
Then he got down on one knee and offered her his hand and heart, handing her a wedding ring that he had made with his own hands.
The wedding took place on September 14, 2024 near Lviv. This place was special for them, because it was here that Ethan came during his first trip to Ukraine. They decided to hold the wedding in Ukraine to give Olga’s friends the opportunity to be present at the celebration.
Olga’s cousin Yevhen Kolomiets, who was wounded at the front, came to the wedding straight from the hospital and joined the dances in a wheelchair. The guests celebrated until the morning.
The wedding combined Ukrainian and American traditions. For example, the groom did not see Olga’s dress until the ceremony itself, and miniburgers were served to the guests at midnight. The newlyweds also arranged to elope in a 1991 Nissan Figaro.
Ethan was wearing a patterned tuxedo designed by his mother, a famous artist. Olga changed two dresses: one for the ceremony from Pronovias, and the other for the party – from her friend Oksana Ostrovska.
