A Russian woman is facing allegations of kidnapping her child, whom she shares with a Canadian man she initially encountered on Cupid.com. It is alleged that she fled to Moscow under the pretense of a ‘family visit.’

Tegmina Agadzhanyan, 41, and Mark Whittaker, 51, met on the dating site, fell in love, and welcomed their daughter Monica in 2023. They got engaged and planned to live in Canada, where their child was born, according to CTV News.

But just a year later, Ontario native Whittaker alleges his former fiancée took their child to visit family in her homeland – and never came back.

Whittaker claims he has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on seven trips to Russia, yet has only seen his two-year-old daughter once during that time.

‘It’s like a hostage on a chain and she’s holding her like a ransom as collateral to get this child support,’ Whittaker told CTV News.

He is now fervently appealing to federal officials to resolve what he describes as his ‘year-long nightmare.’ He claims Russian lawyers have informed him that there is ‘nothing they can do’ since ‘parental abduction is not a crime’ in Russia. 

‘It’s just – it’s unacceptable, it’s wrong, it’s criminal,’ Whittaker added.

Following Monica’s birth, the couple seemed to lead a happy family life. Agadzhanyan posted photos on Facebook as recently as last January, showing Whittaker with their daughter during a shopping mall outing.

But by the following summer, the 41-year-old mother suddenly told Whittaker she was feeling homesick and needed to visit her family back home.

He claimed that within weeks, she ended the relationship and swiftly secured a Russian court order for spousal and child support by August. 

‘She stopped communicating, she wouldn’t answer calls, she’d hang up or declined calls,’ Whittaker told CTV.

‘She wouldn’t respond to my messages, so I started catching on in a few days and go, “Wow, I think she is like, actually wanting to stay,”‘ he added.

Whittaker has since been fighting to bring his daughter back home, making multiple trips to Russia in a desperate attempt to reunite with her – though these efforts have not always been successful.

‘I’ve spent over $300,000,’ Whittker told the outlet, but claims lawyers have repeatedly told him the same thing: parental abduction isn’t illegal in Russia, and the courts ‘heavily favor the mother’ in custody battles.

‘What she’s been doing for the past year is kidnapping and her reason is, you know, to get control of the child for herself and to get money through like a lucrative 25 percent child support order,’ he added.

He said that in March, he was finally allowed to see his two-year-old Monica for a few hours, though the visit came with strict conditions.

Although Whittaker recently obtained a Canadian court order for his daughter’s return, nothing has changed – and he blames Agadzhanyan’s brother and family for keeping his daughter ‘hostage’ in another country. 

While his allegations have yet to be tested in court, Whittaker plans to return to Russia next week for a hearing, having already pleaded with federal government officials for help in bringing his daughter home.

This week, more than a year after she left Canada, South Simcoe Police issued an Ontario-wide arrest warrant for Agadzhanyan, according to a news release.

Authorities have charged the mother with abduction in contravention of a custody or parenting order, as well as disobeying a court order – all while she remains in Russia, seemingly carrying on with life as usual. 

Earlier this month, Agadzhanyan shared several photos on Facebook capturing Monica’s first day of kindergarten – including one showing the backpack-clad toddler walking to school alongside her mother and grandmother. 

‘Monica is already standing up on her own, and says that she must run to kindergarten,’ Agadzhanyan captioned one of her posts. 

‘She speaks American at home with her family, and in the kindergarten she speaks Russian,’ she added. ‘And in English, she watches cartoons and understands.’ 

In another video posted on Wednesday, the mother shared a clip of her brother playfully tossing Monica in the air and cuddling her as she held her doll. 

While forced to watch his daughter grow up from afar through social media, Whittaker says the pain is deepened by the sense of betrayal from the woman he once trusted.

He told CTV News he truly believed Agadzhanyan loved him, especially after they deeply connected on Cupid.com and had a child together – all before she fled to Russia and cut off all contact. 

‘I love my family very much,’ Whittaker told CTV.

‘What you’re doing is wrong,’ he added. ‘It’s criminal and I don’t think, you know, you’re a criminal, but you’re acting like one right now.’

An investigation has been launched into Agadzhanyan, with South Simcoe Police stating she ‘made no attempt to return to Canada with the infant.’ 

The mother allegedly failed to appear at any of the court hearings, and while the investigation remains ongoing, a warrant for her arrest has been issued in Canada.