THE teenage girlfriend of Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood last night spoke for the first time about their relationship and insisted: “I’m in love with him.”

In an exclusive interview with the News of the World, Ekaterina Ivanova—known as Katia—revealed the truth about their sensational affair and exploded some of the myths surrounding it.

The 19-year-old art student also slammed critics who have branded her a gold-digger and a “Russian slut”. She revealed she:

HAD a full-blown SEXUAL relationship with 61-year-old Ronnie which began with an “intense friendship”.

DOESN’T care about the huge age gap or that he’s a rich, famous rock star.

MET him in a respectable bar, NOT a sleazy escort club—and they hit it off talking about their mutual love of art.

WANTS desperately to CARRY ON the relationship when Ronnie gets out of rehab for booze addiction in two weeks.

Katia, who is softly-spoken with a London rather than Eastern European accent, said: “I am in love with Ronnie. I should hope he’s in love with me.

“We didn’t mean to fall in love. You can’t choose who you fall in love with.

“People fall in love despite an age gap. I fancy him because of the person he is. I don’t think about his age or the fact he’s a Rolling Stone.

“It was natural. It just happened. I’ve never felt more connected to someone.

“It wasn’t like kissing a 61-year-old. It was electric. There was a spark.

“His age wasn’t important. I didn’t think about his age as we were kissing. It didn’t occur to me.

Intense

“No one would understand our relationship. It’s really intense, yeah. We are boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Katia also revealed that Ronnie had been texting intimate “I Love You” messages from his rehab clinic, including one on the day of our interview.

She said: “He sent me a text today. I don’t want to say what was in it.”

Katia told how she and Ronnie met in April at a bar where she worked and NOT at the Capricorn escort club as has been reported.

She said: “I was working in a bar in Mayfair when Ronnie came in. I was a bar girl. It’s an upscale bar. Ronnie wouldn’t go to some crappy place like the Capricorn Club.

“He was with a group of people. I had never met him before and I didn’t recognise any of them.

“He had never been there before. We hit it off immediately.”

She told how the pair chatted about their love of art and music and they exchanged phone numbers.

A couple of weeks later, the rocker texted Katia, asking to meet up.

She recalled: “We met for a few drinks then met up again. We also painted together. His work is a lot different to mine. Mine is more abstract and he does portraits. He has a photographic memory.

“I knew in the back of my head that he was famous but I didn’t really think twice about it. I was normal and completely relaxed with him. We were meeting up as friends. It all started really innocently.”

But their friendship began to develop into something more when Ronnie suggested they took an “art holiday” together at his retreat in Co Kildare, Ireland, two months ago.

Ronnie begged her to be his muse and pose for him. Katia, who dreams of becoming a children’s illustrator, explained: “Nothing had happened before we went to Ireland.

“It was meant to be for a few days. We both wanted to get away to clear our heads. I didn’t pose naked for him as people have said but he did do a few sketches of me.

Sex

“That’s when I realised he was a real friend. We were supporting each other. We were not lovers before that point.” But she insisted: “I won’t talk about the sex out of respect for Ronnie and me.” During the Ireland break it was reported that Ronnie, plagued by years of booze addiction, was drinking two bottles of vodka a day, egged on by Katia.

But she insisted: “He wasn’t drinking two bottles a day. I think it’s horrible that I’ve been portrayed as a villain.

“Everyone goes on about my age and how young I am, then they say that I made him drink. He didn’t seem ill, he just seemed stressed. All the stuff about him drinking so much has been really exaggerated.

“It was never my intention for anything to happen. It’s like when you meet anyone. Ronnie is passionate about music. I love music too. I love ’60s stuff and Motown. I had never bought a Rolling Stones record before I met him.

“I think he liked me because I was never star-struck. I think if I had been it would never have happened. We would talk about lots of topics, not just art and music. We are like any other couple who chat about loads of things.

“I forgot about the age difference. I didn’t even think about it. Everyone has their own character. You don’t think about the age.”

The relationship with Katia has pushed the rock legend’s marriage to 53-year-old wife Jo to the brink.

Ronnie is reported to have told fellow rehab patients that he is torn between his wife and his girlfriend, a dead-ringer for the young Jo.

His newly-married daughter Leah, 29, even cut short her honeymoon to comfort Jo and she is said to be stunned at her dad's behaviour.

Katia admitted she was haunted by guilt about his wife.

She said: “I did feel guilty but the way his family have been quoted ... I feel bullied by it and I feel less bad about it now.”

She added: “I don’t have any right to talk about his marriage. He hasn’t spoken about his wife. I felt guilty until the papers came out. All they said made him and me look bad. It was really vicious.”

She says she was branded a sex worker and a “Russian slut.” Katia said, angrily: “I’m not a Russian slut. I have never worked as a prostitute in an escort bar. It’s ridiculous.

“I’m not even from Russia. I’m from a tiny country called Kyrgyzstan, which borders Russia and China, but I have lived in the UK since I was three or four.

“That’s why I wanted to finally speak out—to set the record straight and make a few things clear.” In Ireland with Katia, Ronnie ignored calls from family and bandmates and only returned to the UK after son Jesse, 30, flew to Co Kildare to plead with him to go into rehab following his two-week booze bender.

Rehab

Katia revealed that prior to Leah’s wedding she sneaked in to see Ronnie in rehab. She said: “It was like a hang-out. It didn’t seem strict at all.”

Since then, the couple have had no contact other than text messages and Katia is happy to give Ronnie space to make himself better.

She hopes their relationship will start up again when he comes out of rehab around the time of her 20th birthday, but she is not banking on it.

Katia said: “I need to see Ronnie face to face to know if there can be anything further. He needs to clear his head and decide what he wants to do. There is a lot on the line and I really don’t expect him to be with me. He’s never been anything but good to me. Whatever happens we will remain friends.”

Our exclusive photo-shoot on these pages—available in its entirety at our website notw.co.uk—clearly shows what attracted the veteran rocker.

Katia giggled as the photographer snapped away, although she confessed she was worried about being portrayed as a “slut”.

After one wardrobe change, she asked: “You can’t see my boobs in this top, can you? I’m going to have to hold the jacket tight.

“I don’t want to look like a Page Three girl.”

Katia is deeply aware of the backlash over her affair, admitting her mother Irina fears for her.

She said: “Mum is worried I’m going to be dumped and stranded.

“She gave me a load of examples of other fairly old famous men with relatively young girls.”

But Katia added: “I don’t know if there is a future for us.

“I am still in love with Ronnie now but I really don’t care about us being lovers.

“I just want him to be happy. We were happy in Ireland.

“I want to support him through rehab. Whatever decision he makes when he gets out is up to him. I want him to get well.”

And defiantly, she added: “I don’t regret anything. I wouldn’t take it all back for the world.”

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sara.nuwar@notw.co.uk