Gymnast in Putin marriage riddle: I've met a man I love very much and I dream of having his children Alina Kabayeva, 30, told TV show she 'has met the person she will marry' The former Olympic gymnast is an MP in Putin's United Russia party Her comments come as the Russian president announced his divorce There have for years been rumours of an affair between him and Kabayeva Plunging: Alina Kabayeva, pictured in 2004, who is widely believed to be Vladimir Putin's mistress. She revealed she has met a man whom she 'loves' The glamorous young Olympic gymnast at the centre of speculation over Vladimir Putin's marriage breakdown has spoken of her longing to marry and have children. Alina Kabayeva, 30, who was first named as the Russian president's mistress five years ago, revealed she has indeed met a man "whom I love very much." "Sometimes you feel yourself so happy that you even feel scared that you are so happy," she said. Miss Kabayeva, a gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast who is now an MP in Mr Putin's United Russia party, had denied a relationship. Yet the speculation in Moscow has continued unabated, with claims Mr Putin, 60, and Miss Kabayeva already have a secret family of one, two or even three children. The rumours coincided with the almost total eclipse of Mr Putin's wife, Lyudmila, 55. Some reports have even suggested she now lives as a recluse in a monastery. The rumour mill intensified last week as Mr Putin and his wife announced they are to divorce. Despite denials from Mr Putin's spokesman, many Russians believe it is only a matter of time before Miss Kabayeva is gradually unveiled at his side. Marriage to Mr Putin would enable her formally to take her place as Russia's youngest first lady since Tsarina Alexandra, the ill-fated wife of the Kremlin's last royal monarch, Nicholas II. In revealing recent television interviews, she never once named Mr Putin. Instead of denying a relationship, her mannerisms - coquettish laughter and hand nervously brushing through her hair - if anything suggested the opposite. She also made clear that marriage is definitely on her mind, that she has found her Mr Right and that she does not yet have children. "Of course I want to get married, have my family . . . and children," she told a group of young interviewers. Asked who she wanted to marry, she giggled and replied: "You know I've never thought about it . . . but life is such a thing that . . . you live and everything is fine with you and then you see a person you like. Everything about him you like. This will be the kind of person I will marry. Had she met this person? "Erm" . . . (laughing). . . yes I have . . . (laughing more and now beaming with happiness)." The young audience broke into applause, with few viewers not aware of the name no one appeared brave enough to mention. In fact, the interviewer on this occasion did bravely press her for the identity of her man. Cue more coquettish laughter and nervous fidgets with her hair before she replied: "You've managed to ask THAT question. Well done. She laughed again rather than answer it directly but promised he is "a very good, excellent man who I love very much." Mr Putin with Miss Kabayeva in 2001: The gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast, who is now an MP in Mr Putin¿s United Russia party, has denied a relationship. Yet the speculation in Moscow has continued unabated Body language: The Russian president pictured last year with his wife Lyudmila, 55, who has almost totally disappeared from public life. Some rumours suggest she has gone to live as a recluse in a monastery A stronger indication of the true situation may have been a TV hagiography devoted to Miss Kabayeva marking her 30th birthday last month on Russia's main channel - in which she was surprisingly candid on her personal dreams. Asked about her desire for a family, she flashed her smile to the camera, saying emphatically: "Of course, I am dreaming about having children, it's true. Although the whole country - and perhaps now other countries too - write I've already got two or three children. Sadly, I don't have children yet. But, of course, I want to be a mother. Still, I'm not yet. In May 2009 a newspaper had claimed she had given birth to a boy during that month, not naming the father. Supple: Miss Kabayeva pictured competing for Russia at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She took gold four years later in Athens Her gymnastics coach Irina Viner, the wife of billionaire Arsenal Football Club shareholder Alisher Usmanov, said at the time: "When Alina finds the right time, she will say it herself. And I'm just happy for her. Whispers of one or two other children have surfaced but no scrap of hard evidence has emerged from behind the well-guarded walls of Mr Putin's palatial homes. Miss Kabayeva is an accomplished athlete, one of the most decorated gymnasts in the world, taking gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. As an MP now, she is dogged in pursuing Mr Putin's agenda but also has a law to her name designed to protect the privacy of children. Some observers have noticed a strange irony in the Kabayeva whispers and denials appearing in the media. In spring 2008, a newspaper called Moskovsky Korrespondent first published the story that Mr Putin had divorced Lyudmila and was to marry Miss Kabayeva that June. It was the first time the subject had come to public attention. The owner of the paper, Alexander Lebedev, once a KGB colleague of Putin's who later bought the London Evening Standard and the Independent titles, insisted he knew nothing of the report ahead of publication as he had been away on a fishing trip and incommunicado. The editor resigned, though others at the paper insisted: "We had information, and we reported it." Within days, Mr Lebedev had closed down the paper. He is now on trial in Moscow - and facing up to five years in jail after a fracas in a TV studio when he punched fellow businessman Sergei Polonsky. Mr Lebedev said he felt "half rehabilitated" over the divorce announcement. But if he is jailed, he may rue that fishing trip which meant his newspaper was the first to tell the world about Miss Kabayeva's supposed relationship with Mr Putin.