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Credit: Axelle Woussen/BauerGriffin/INST/Cover Images

Mohamed Hadid‘s girlfriend, Keni Silva, recently spoke out against the backlash they’ve received due to the 35-year age gap between them.

Years after the 76-year-old real estate mogul last appeared on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alongside his friend Lisa Vanderpump, 64, and ex-wife Yolanda Hadid, 61, Keni, 41, a Russian model who has appeared on The Real Housewives of Orange County due to her friendship with former cast member Noella Bergener, 39, reacted to the criticism.

“If you see two beautiful souls in love and they communicate, there’s no age,” Keni declared to the Daily Mail on March 17. “Look at Cher, she’s 77 and she has a younger boyfriend … Dynamics are changing. To me personally, love has no age. Age is just a number. Like I’m 41, but I still feel like I’m just out of college. I feel young inside.”

“If they don’t hate on you because of your age gap, they’re going to find something else [to hate on]. But to me, it’s a compliment. They obviously have nothing else going on in their life if they have time to hate you,” she continued. “It’s kind of sad.”

Keni, the author of Divorce as an Opportunity, was first linked to Mohamed in 2022 and said she has always been attracted to older men since she finds them “very mature.”

In fact, her ex-husband, whom she married at 24 and shares two children with, was 30 years her senior.

“Ever since I was young, all of my boyfriends were much older because I’m very mature,” she explained. “I’m not [into] guys my age. I lived in Moscow, lived in Milan. I lived around the world. I’m a world traveler. And I have a business degree. I have fashion degree. I have a brokers license. I’m a divorce certified coach. I invest in real estate and in stocks and bonds. To me, I fall in love with smart men. If I meet a man and I can learn something from him, that is my love language.”

“I would be like fascinated [in my relationship]. So that’s why I have always loved older men because there’s something I can talk about [with them],” she added.

According to Keni, who said she’s “finally happy” after her messy divorce, she isn’t opposed to marriage, nor is she determined to remarry.

“Marriage doesn’t guarantee forever-lasting love. It doesn’t guarantee happiness. What’s important is being present in the moment. If you have a person that you love and you have an amazing time [together], just enjoy that time,” she advised. “I don’t look that far. I don’t care what’s going to happen. I want life to surprise me.”

As for why her relationship with Mohamed is so strong, Keni suggested that he supports her and allows her to thrive as an individual.

‘There are a lot of men out there that love their wife but don’t want them to have freedom, or for them to have a career or a life bigger than theirs,” she noted. “I want the person I’m with to support me.”

Following his 2020 split from Yolanda, Mohamed went on to get engaged to Shiva Safai, 44, whom he appeared to split from in 2018.