Rumors have been spreading that the split of formerly engaged couple Alex Ovechkin and Maria Kirilenko was due to the Washington Capitals star's Instagram hijinks. The ice hockey player posted a picture on the social networking site with another girl, Russian gymnast Karolina Sevastyanova.

But ex-girlfriend and fiancee Maria Kirilenko says this is not the reason for the pair's break up. She spoke to Sovetsky Sport about the matter, and was firm when asked for comment on the picture of Alex and Karolina.

"Believe me, over the years I have seen so many pictures of Sasha in the company of young ladies, that I have gotten used to it," said Maria Kirilenko, as reported by Deadspin. "This is the first time I heard about this girl, and I made my decision to break up the engagement long before these pictures appeared on the social networks. It is laughable to point to them as the main reason behind the breakup - after three years together couples do not break up over a couple of pictures."

The tennis star did not stop there.

"There are much more significant reasons. I will not go into any more details about them. But let's just say it is not a secret for anybody that Sasha has certain habits and particulars of behavior that I did not consider worth tolerating anymore."

The Russian duo's split was first reported on July 20, as Alex Ovechkin's girlfriend confirmed the pair were no longer engaged.

"I have decided to terminate the engagement," said Maria Kirilenko, as translated in the Washington Post. "At this moment, I'm concentrating on getting prepared for the nearest tournament. And I'm hoping that soon I'll make my fans happy with news not only about my personal life, but also about my sports achievement."

To confirm the news of the break up, Maria retweeted a link to the original Russian article from her personal Twitter account on July 21.

The Washington Capitals star has not yet commented publicly on the split.