Cradle of Filth’s Zoe Federoff & Marek Smerda Announce Engagement in Sweet New Year’s Post

3 January, 2024

A wedding is in store for two Cradle of Filth members, as vocalist and keyboardist Zoë Federoff and guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda announced their engagement in joint Instagram post on New Year’s Eve.

“Happy New Year from a Šmerda and a future Šmerda – 2024 will be the last year the name ‘Zoë Federoff’ exists. Forever isn’t long enough. #HappyNewYear #AreWeThereYet,” the couple shared on Sunday (Dec. 31) on the social media platform.

Federoff also took the time to answer a question in the comments section, remarking when a fan enquired on how their time in their respective countries will be shared that they are “planning to split our time between both countries – we both have homes we want to keep in the family and we want our children to be raised bilingual in English and Czech. So for sure Tucson isn’t gonna lose me and Brno isn’t gonna lose him. :)”

Following the happy news, however, Federoff made a follow up post in order to address rumors that her relationship with Šmerda allowed her to join the band, and that the couple’s decision to get married will cause changes within Cradle of Filth.

“I never knew Ashok before I joined CoF. He had nothing to do with me coming on board,” she captioned a photo of her and the guitarist performing on stage together. “I have already written some material for the next CoF album so clearly our engagement has nothing to do with my continued stay in this band.”

As for if the two will abandon the band, Federoff clarified, “We have no plans to leave CoF as we truly enjoy working together, not to mention working with several of our closest friends. Dani has been the greatest and most supportive leader possible when it comes to our engagement. We remain happily committed to his team in CoF.”

See the Instagram posts below.