New man and baby on the way for Iran detainee Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert has announced she has found love and is having a baby with former ABC host and comedian Sami Shah.

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who spent more than two years locked up in a notorious Iranian prison, has announced that she has a new man in her life, former ABC host and comedian Sami Shah – and they’re expecting a baby.

Dr Moore-Gilbert, 35, returned to Australia in November 2020 after the federal government negotiated her release from Iran in a prisoner swap deal.

She was arrested at Tehran Airport in September 2018 with authorities accusing her of being a spy and sentencing her to 10 years in prison.

Despite continually denying the charges, the 33-year-old spent 804 days in some of Iran’s most notorious prisons, living in horrific conditions and subject to psychological torture.
During her time in prison, Dr Moore-Gilbert’s marriage to her Russian-Israeli husband Ruslan Hodorov was kept completely secret.

The sensitivities of her being married to an Israeli while being accused of being an Israeli spy by Iranian authorities was seen as something that could create issues in negotiating Dr Moore-Gilbert.

Journalist-turned-comedian Sami Shah. Picture: Colin Murty

But just two days after returning home, Dr Moore-Gilbert discovered her husband had allegedly been having an affair with her colleague Dr Kylie Baxter.

The alleged affair began about a year after her 2018 arrest, but Dr Moore-Gilbert and her family were kept in the dark.

Forgive the irrelevant personal announcement dear Twitter, but... ladies and gentlemen, I am officially divorced! Time for a sneaky kardonnay? 🍾🍾 https://t.co/3jBr5OzCYK

— Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert (@KMooreGilbert) April 8, 2021

Mr Hodorov, 31, and Dr Baxter fervently campaigned for Dr Moore-Gilbert’s release from prison.

Dr Moore-Gilbert and Mr Hodorov married just months before she flew to Iran.

Following the alleged affair hitting the news, Dr Moore-Gilbert announced on Twitter she was officially divorced in April 2021.

The ex husband of Dr Moore-Gilbert Ruslan Hodorov and his new partner Kylie Baxter. Picture: Media Mode

Dr Moore-Gilbert was seen carrying a cake and without her wedding ring after recently announcing she had finalised her divorce in 2021. Picture: Media Mode

But in an interview with Nine over the weekend Dr Moore-Gilbert said she has found love with Melbourne comedian Shah and they were expecting a child.

Mr Shah co-hosted the ABC Radio Melbourne Breakfast program with Jacinta Parsons for two years from 2018.

The pair met through the dating app Hinge where she used a fake profile as she was wary of “creepy men”.

She described Mr Shah as “charming and witty and smart” and admitted both were in a weird placed after both going through divorces.

An image grab from footage obtained from Iranian State TV IRIB on November 25, 2020, shows Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

“I felt betrayed and hurt when I learnt about his affair, but by then I’d already made my peace with the fact that the marriage was over,” Dr Moore Gilbert said. .

She said she was determined to have a baby when she left prison.

“I was 31 when I was arrested and I was given a 10-year sentence, so I knew that unless somebody came to my rescue, I’d be there until I was 41,” she said.

“I was fearful that I would never have the opportunity to be a mother. I ended up getting out when I was 33 and, yeah, I knew that I wanted a child.”

She said her personal life is “amazing” and sees the new baby as an “opportunity for a fresh beginning”.

Dr Moore-Gilbert, pictured near her home in Belgrave. Aaron Francis / Herald Sun

Melbourne comedian Sami Shah. Picture: Pulse

Mr Shah, who was also interviewed for the piece, admitted he didn’t recognise Dr Moore-Gilbert on their first date but said there was something “familiar” about her.
“When we met in a cafe, I was like, “My god, this woman is beautiful.” I had no idea who she was,” he said.

When she told him she worked as an academic in Middle Eastern studies he even jokingly asked her if she was a spy.

Mr Shah said it was “exciting to be with someone you are always playing catch-up with”

And while he was initially reluctant to have another child (he has a 13-year-old daughter with his ex-wife) he said Dr Moore-Gilbert convinced him.

“I realised I’d always wanted to have two children,” he said. “And that Kylie was the only person I would want to have a kid with. We will raise a child well together, I think.”

-with Natalie Wolfe

[e-mail]