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Kova: No. Was it selfish of me to use her like that? Yes. I will take full responsibility and say I was selfish. But I needed her, and only she could help me. I was drowning. Adrianna revived me.
It was the first time I really made love to her. Once I slowed down and took her the way I needed her—and all she did was ask for more—it tied me to Ria forever. She allowed me to unleash and not hold back. Adrianna took all of me, showed me it was okay, and made love to me right back.
Lucia: Do you think your love for Adrianna is what prevented you from striking Frank back when he found you in her apartment?
Kova: [muses over the question] I think it is a possibility that had a little to do with it. I had already tarnished my relationship with Frank. He was not wrong in his flight, and I had no intention of hitting him back when I was the one at fault.
In Frank’s defense, he reacted like any father would. With four daughters of my own, I would not hesitate to kill a motherfucker. I am fortunate that was all that happened to me.
Lucia: When Frank walked in, do you remember your first thought?
Kova:What is it with you and first thoughts? Do you remember what your first thought was the first time you had sex? About everything wrong you have done in your life?
Lucia:This isn’t about me. I didn’t marry my gymnast or lick her ass, like you. And yeah, that’s why this interview is happening. The people want to know what the hell you were thinking.
Kova: (glares) I do not remember my first thought, but I remember thinking we were totally and completely fucked. Frank had caught us. (he shakes his head) That first look in his eyes… Something shifted in him. I knew in that moment it would never be the same. There was nothing I could say or do to change his mind. I decided in that moment I was going to take his punishment, then find Ria.
Lucia: Except it wasn’t that easy.
Kova: Not when you write the book, it is not.
Lucia:That’s where all the fun is though.
Kova: As her coach, a friend of her father’s, I did not have a leg to stand on. I would have taken any kind of beating to save the anguish my wife went through. I would have done anything at all.
Lucia: Except stay away from her for the rest of her life.
Kova:Except that.
Lucia:Kova, you loved watching Adrianna perform.
Kova:I do—I did. The rush she gave me, the crowd loved her. She was a showstopper. Still is in my eyes.
Lucia: Once you knew about Adrianna’s deteriorating health, did that ever change your view on the way she competed? Did you go from watching her with admiration to panicked that she would only make herself sicker?
Kova: I hardly slept. I drank too much vodka in my spare time. I had ulcers from stress. You know, the more we talk about the past, the more I am glad you could not be inside my head. I do not think it is half of what people expect it to be.
Adrianna consumed my mind, but not in an obsessive way. Yes, she was at the forefront of my mind every second of the day. I wondered if she was okay and if there was anything I could do for her without making her feel useless at the same time. If anything, I was more awe-inspired by her strength to persevere that by holding back my anxieties, just a little bit, she transformed into a beacon of fucking light. That is where my obsession fell. I was no longer worried about her health as much as I was finding ways to make her happy. Her happiness keeps her alive. I would find ways to keep her spirits positive while not treating her any differently. Gymnastics is like the cream of the Oreo that holds the best parts of the cookie together.
Lucia:Sounds like she taught you a few things.
Kova:It was not easy all the time. Boosting her spirits while not stripping her of the one thing I knew she feared losing most—her identity—she was a sight to behold. We knew our roles when it was go time. I think it is what made me fall so hard for her.
Lucia:Take us to the Olympics.
KOVA:(stands and paces the floor) It is not what it should have been. I mean, it was, but it was not.
Lucia:Continue.
Kova:Once I was arrested, there was no one to give me an update on her condition. She was wheeled away and that was the last of it. The Olympics is what we had been killing ourselves for, and in the blink of an eye, she was hanging on to it by a thread.
Adrianna gaveeverythingto be chosen for the Olympic team. There was no power on earth that was going to keep me from making sure she got what she deserved.
I barely caught the last flight out. I was going insane. When I went home to pack, Katja was screaming at the top of her lungs. I have no idea what she was saying, her voice was so loud, but then she grabbed the puppy and threatened to throw it at me.
Lucia:She did what! Where is she now?
Kova:I lost it. I threw minimal items into a bag and left. I took the pup to my neighbor’s house and told them what she had done before I jumped into my car and took off for the airport. Frank got me released at the very last minute. I think he hoped I would miss takeoff. If I did, then I would have taken every single flight I could to get where she was.
