Former Miss Moscow Rihana Oksana Petra shares how she fell in love with Malaysian Sultan on Instagram

STORYBusiness Insider Singapore/Malaysia

Jun 24 , 2019

Rihana Oksana Petra (left) with her husband, Kelantan’s Sultan Muhammad V, pictured on their wedding day, and right, after being crowned Miss Moscow. Photos: Instagram/Rihanapetra/Instagram/Miss Moscow

Rihana Oksana Petra posts photos of wedding to Kelantan’s Sultan Muhammad V – king of Malaysia at the time – and their son, seven months after marriage rumours went viral

The newly created Instagram account of Rihana Oksana Petra is proving to be a gold mine of information about her life with Kelantan’s Sultan Muhammad V Faris Petra, from Malaysia.

She found herself in the spotlight last November after widespread speculation that the Sultan – who was Malaysia’s king, the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, at the time – had married the Russian former Miss Moscow beauty queen, who is 24 years younger than him, in a private ceremony in Moscow.

Photographs posted on social media in Malaysia – along with claims that they were taken during the wedding ceremony – went viral at the time, but the Istana Negara, the monarch’s official residence, never issued a statement about the event.

Now, photos on the former model’s newly created Instagram account, described as “Oksana Voevodina Official Page”, appear to have finally confirmed her marriage to the Sultan, 49, who abdicated from the throne on January 6, even though his official term, which began in December 2016, was not expected to end until December 12, 2021.

Rihana was previously known by the name Oksana Voevodina, before reportedly converting to Islam and taking a Muslim name, local media said.

In a caption on the account’s earliest post, dated June 4, Rihana said she would be “happy to share” more about her life on the platform.

Apart from photos of the wedding, the account features pictures of the royal couple and their newborn son, Tengku Ismail Leon Petra.

In the latest post, dated July 19, Rihana explained how the couple first met – information she said had remained a public mystery up to now.