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Photographer to the stars Terry Richardson is to become a father with his girlfriend Alexandra Bolotow. That’s according to a Page Six report that quotes “multiple sources” saying “the couple’s been discreetly telling friends. A source further told us that Bolotow’s three or four months along.” The couple first met each other in 2004 when Richardson was photographing Bolotow for a calendar shoot, it’s unclear for exactly how long the couple have been dating. The controversial snapper’s last high-profile relationship was his marriage to model Nikki Uberti, which ended in 1999.
Here’s what you need to know about Terry Richardson’s main squeeze:
1. In One Photo Shoot That Bolotow Did for Richardson, She Had ‘SLUT’ Written in Lipstick on Her Forehead
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In 2014 New York magazine wrote a controversial profile of Richardson entitled “The Perverse Case of Terry Richardson.” In it, it’s written that Richardson and Bolotow met each other when he photographed her for a calendar shoot while she was working for him as an intern. The magazine piece describes the shoot as:
There are images of her fellating Richardson from inside a trash can; from inside a suitcase, with him pinching her nose shut; under his desk; upside down; with the word SLUT lipsticked on her forehead; in tandem with another woman; wearing a paper In-N-Out Burger cap.
I asked Bolotow about the SLUT picture and whether she interpreted any misogyny in it. She laughed. “I love that picture. I’m always like, ‘I look so hot in that picture.’ The whole setup was even my idea; that was the full comedy of it. I think we had a friend coming over, and I was like, ‘You know what would be so funny? If they walked in the door, and I was sucking your dick, and I’d just written slut on my forehead.'”
That piece did not identify Bolotow as Richardson’s girlfriend but rather as his assistant.
2. She Has No Time for the Models Who Have Made Allegations of Sexual Abuse Against Richardson
Richardson pictured with Kanye West. (Getty)
The same New York magazine piece indicated that Bolotow had no sympathy or belief in the numerous allegations made against Richardson. She told the magazine “I think part of being a strong woman is owning the decisions that you’ve made in your life. Trying to put the onus onto someone else for your own decisions is really cowardly and kind of dishonest.” According to the Guardian, some of the models who have accused Richardson of sexual exploitation include Rie Rasmussen, Jamie Peck and Charlotte Waters. The New York Post interviewed Rasumussen about her claims where she said “He takes girls who are young, manipulates them to take their clothes off and takes pictures of them they will be ashamed of. They are too afraid to say no because their agency booked them on the job and are too young to stand up for themselves. His ‘look’ is girls who appear underage, abused, look like heroin addicts … I don’t understand how anyone works with him.”
3. She’s an NYU & Columbia University Graduate
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She first came to work for Richardson in 2004, first as an intern, the Observer referred to her in a piece as Richardson’s “newest superstar.” One of Richardson’s biggest supporters, Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, told the paper that Bolotow was a “a rich girl who wanted some culture.” Her contribution to the Observer piece was Bolotow saying “I want Terry to sign my chest.” The Page Six report announcing the couple’s pregnancy, says that Bolotow graduated as an anthropology major from Columbia University and also studied communications at NYU.
4. She Uses Her Facebook Page to Recruit Models for Richardson
The cover image from Bolotow’s Facebook page.
There is little public information that can be gleamed from Bolotow’s Facebook page. One status update that is publicly visible is a 2009 casting call for a Microsoft photo shoot. The gig paid $500. The last posting on the page is from September 2013, it shows Bolotow topless riding a horse in the Rocky Mountains.
5. Richardson Left His Wife in 1999 When She Was Diagnosed With Cancer
Richardson’s former wife Nikki Uberti. (Twitter)
Between 1996 and 1999, Terry Richardson was married to make-up artist and model Nikki Uberti. He left her after Uberti was diagnosed with breast cancer, reports the New York Post. The paper quotes Richardson as saying “I was single and I was going to explore sexuality.” As a result of this break-up, when Richardson had his first show in New York in 2004, he was boycotted by what Gavin McInnes of Vice-fame called “first-year feminist types.”