Irina Terehova (; born 13 April 1989) is a Moldovan-Canadian model and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

personality. Terehova immigrated from

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the age of twelve. From 2015 to 2016, she first gained notoriety as a writer for the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

news website

MTL Blog MTL Blog is a Montreal-based digital publisher founded in 2012 by Charles Lapointe and Joshua McRae and owned by Narcity Media. The site features local, provincial, and Canadian news and stories, and showcases activities to do in and around the c ...

. In 2016, she married

Lethwei Lethwei (; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) or Burmese boxing is a Full contact fighting, full contact combat sport originating from Myanmar and is considered as one of the most brutal martial arts in the world.} * * * * * * Lethwe ...

World Champion fighter

Dave Leduc Dave Leduc (born 13 December 1991) is a Canadian-Burmese Lethwei fighter. He is a former six-time Lethwei world champion who held the Lethwei Golden Belt#Openweight champions, Openweight Lethwei World Championship and was undefeated under Lethwei ...

in a nationally televised wedding ceremony in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. In 2019, she participated in ''The Amazing Race Canada'' Season 7 with her husband and the couple became the biggest ''

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

s'' of the Canadian television franchise.

Personal life

Born in Kishinev, in the

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

, republic of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, now

, in 1989 to a modest family of

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

descent. Terehova immigrated in 2001 to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada at the age of twelve. In 2016, Terehova met professional fighter

when she took a trip to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The two had never met before, but after writing a story on him in

, Terehova decided to leave Canada and meet him in

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

. The trip was supposed to last two weeks, but Terehova decided to stay and live with Leduc. In October 2016, she got engaged to Leduc on the Shwesandaw Pagoda in

Bagan Bagan ( ; ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

. On 13 December 2016, the couple got married in a traditional Burmese wedding ceremony at the Central Hotel in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. The ceremony was broadcast live on national television

MRTV Myanmar Radio and Television (, abbreviated MRTV), formerly the Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS), is the parent of the state-run Myanmar Radio National Service and the MRTV television channel. The television channels are broadcasting from its ...

with an estimated 30 million viewers, catapulting the couple to celebrity status in

. In February 2023, Terehova and her husband renewed their wedding vows in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in a ceremony officiated by Icelandic witch Sigga Kling. The couple wore traditional Icelandic national costumes and the ceremony took place at Álftanesfjara, a sacred beach facing

Snæfellsjökull Snæfellsjökull (, ''snow-fell glacier'') is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland. It is situated on the westernmost part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Sometimes it may be seen from the city of Reykjavík over Faxa ...

. Despite challenging weather conditions, including a yellow weather warning, the couple proceeded with the ceremony. In 2017, Terehova and her husband started getting involved with children at NLD AIDS center in

, who are infected with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

virus, bringing them chocolate and treats, as well as giving undisclosed donations.

Career

Writing

In 2015, Terehova started her personal blog where she wrote a piece ''Things I Hate About Dating And Relationships in Canada''. It sparked various debates in worldwide media, especially in Russia and Canada. She gained widespread attention because of her writing style and subjects. The same year she got approached to join the

team. While at MTL Blog under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

''Irina Tee'', Terehova wrote multiple provocative articles and

listicle In journalism and blogging, a listicle is an article that is structured as a list, which is often fleshed out with additional text relating to each item. A typical listicle will have a title describing a specific number of items contained within, a ...

about relationships and dating. She received criticism for allegedly supporting

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

. She later became the subject of requests from readers asking for her demission and an open-letter demanding her suspension from her writing position at

was posted on The Link, thus making her even more popular online. In 2017, Terehova became a guest writer at the now defunct '' Jetli.com''.

Modeling

In 2004, at 15 years old, Terehova entered a

pageant in ''Miss Soyuz'', reserved for adults and won 1st place. She signed with

NEXT Model Management Jean-Luc Didier Henri Brunel (; 18 September 1946 – 19 February 2022) was a French model scout. He gained prominence by leading the international modelling agency Karin Models, and founded MC2 Model Management, with financing by Jeffrey Epstein ...

in Montreal and executed modeling contracts for Loreal,

La Senza La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer that sells women's lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Regent which operates and owns La Senza stores in Canada and the United States and uses a franchise mo ...

Escada Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Aschheim, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. The company was founded in 1978 by desi ...

and

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

. In 2009, Terehova was chosen to feature as the

race queen A promotional model is a model hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential customers. Most promotional models are conventionally attractive in physical appearance. They serve to m ...

in the EA and Ghost Games celebratory video created for the ''

Need for Speed ''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games (the developers of the ''Burnout'' series). Most entries in the series are generally arcade racing games centered ...

'' series. Terehova also was featured in the magazine spread for the release of Need for Speed: Shift.

Television

In 2019, Terehova competed with her husband

on ''The Amazing Race Canada'' Season 7. The couple made it clear that they weren't on the show for the prize money nor to make friends, it was apparently Leduc's desire since teenage to compete on the show. Undoubtedly the most controversial seasons of the Canadian franchise, The couple became the most notorious villains the franchise has known, while being practically unbeatable for the entire season. The couple outraged a lot of viewers and were deemed "un-Canadian". They fell out of favour of viewers and fellow racers for their cutthroat way of racing, copying an answer at the

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is a provincial park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Its principal function is the protection, management, and recreational use of several caves collectively known as the Horne Lake Caves. Hist ...

and stealing cabs in

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

. The couple later revealed receiving

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s when the show aired. They generated a remarkable amount of hate from Canadian viewers for referring to other contestants as

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s. In the first episode of the season, in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, the couple quickly stood out and became the season's villains after trash-talking Canada’s Choice Jet & Dave. In the fifth episode, in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, the remaining contestants teamed up and tried send the Quebec couple home, but as the couple said, it was a "drastic failure." Despite a well-laid plan against the couple and a record number of penalties taken by multiple teams, it was ultimately the Halifax twins who got eliminated. Dave and Irina led the charge out of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Wolfville, Nova Scotia Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination d ...

, but faltered at the apple sorting challenge and were eventually the last team to meet host

Jon Montgomery Jonathan Riley "Jon" Montgomery (born May 6, 1979, in Russell, Manitoba) is a Canadian skeleton racer and television host. He won the gold medal in the men's skeleton event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Despite hos ...

at the mat at Luckett Vineyards.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terehova, Irina 1989 births Living people Female models from Quebec Canadian bloggers Naturalized citizens of Canada Actresses from Montreal Canadian film actresses Canadian women bloggers Television personalities from Montreal Canadian television personalities Participants in Canadian reality television series Canadian people of Moldovan descent People from Chișinău