Ukrainian singer and actress Anna Sedokova has spoken for the first time after the death of her ex-husband, basketball player Jānis Timma.
Latvian-born Timma, 32, was found on Tuesday at the entrance to an apartment building in Moscow, where he had recently moved to play 3×3 basketball. Authorities have not yet released an official statement on the cause of death.
Hours after news of Timma's death broke, Sedokova shared an emotional video on Instagram in which he spoke of going through “hell.”
“I never understood how people who have something like this in their lives could record stories,” Sedokova said in Russian as she cried in the seconds-long clip.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for MILA;/Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Dosso Dossi
“But now I'm begging you please, I have a child, he's small, he shouldn't know anything,” added the performer, whose divorce from Timma was reportedly finalized earlier this month.
Without revealing specific details, Sedokova, who turned 42 on Monday, said: “You have no idea what kind of hell I have been through in the last few years.”
She reiterated her initial request, adding: “I just have to protect my child from this information. Please, I ask you not to share anything.”
Who was Janis Timma?
Born in Krāslava, Latvia, Timma was a basketball player who played numerous games for his country's national team.
After moving to Riga as a teenager, Timma joined the youth system of the now-defunct ASK Rīga and played for the basketball club's senior team in the 2008–09 season. When ASK Rīga was dissolved the following year, he signed with DSN Rīga, which he helped win the Latvian 2nd League in the 2009/10 season.
In the 2011/12 season he made his debut with Liepājas Lauvas, after which he signed a multi-year contract with Ventspils. In Ventspils, Timma led the team to the Baltic Basketball League championship. He also won the Finals MVP Award.
During his second season with the team, Timma won his first Latvian championship. In addition to his success, he was named MVP of the playoffs.
During his time with VEF Rīga from 2014, he won an MVP award for the 2015 Latvian Basketball League All-Star Game. In 2015, he was named VTB United League Young Player of the Year. This season he also won the Latvian championship with VEF Rīga.
Timma left Latvia and signed with Russian team Zenit St. Petersburg. He also had brief stints with Spanish club Baskonia and Greece's Olympiacos before signing with EuroLeague club Khimki Moscow midway through the 2018-19 season.
Earlier this year, in February 2024, Timma signed with Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB. He reportedly decided to sign with Team Alikson in October to take part in a tournament organized by Russian bookmaker Liga Stavok.
Has Jānis Timma ever played in the NBA?
During his career, Timma traveled to a number of countries, including the United States, where he declared for the 2013 NBA draft. This led to him being the Memphis Grizzlies' final pick.
The Grizzlies traded his draft rights to the Orlando Magic in June 2015 in exchange for Luke Ridnour.
Timma was also part of the Magic's off-season NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas in 2021. He scored 11 points in his debut for the team.
Who is Jānis Timma's ex-wife Anna Sedokova and how many children did they have?
Sedokova is a singer, actress and TV personality who first rose to prominence in 2002 as a member of the Ukrainian pop group Nu Virgos.
She married Timma in 2020. Their divorce was finalized in 2024. Although they had no children together, Sedokova is the mother of three children – two girls and a boy – from previous relationships.
When Sedokova shared a video on Instagram last month for Russian Mother's Day, celebrated on the last Sunday in November, she said: “I know no greater happiness than being a mother. Somehow it turned out that I had started my journey early.) .
“But in every difficult minute I felt the strongest support. And I understood that I can do anything. Even though I'm not with my girls now, I love them endlessly. And I know it’s very mutual.”
“Happy Mother’s Day, my beloved girls! Strength for us, patience and great mutual love. I love you very much, my superwomen.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, texting “988” to the Crisis Text Line on 741 741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
