Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry novel confirmed why Ilya's brother hates him so much, and this hatred was showcased accurately in the HBO Max series. While Heated Rivalry mainly focused on the romantic love story between Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, the show also spent a good chunk of its storyline focusing on each of the main characters' families.
A compelling story that both the book and the series explored is the rift between Ilya and his brother, Alexei (Andrei in the books). Right from the get-go, Heated Rivalry established an ongoing rift between Ilya and Alexei, and it came to a point that it became so disturbing that it led fans to question what had been going on between the two brothers.
Heated Rivalry Explains Why Ilya's Brother Hates Him So Much
Heated Rivalry Season 1, Episode 1 introduced Ilya Rozanov's older brother, Alexei, and it's clear that both siblings had hidden animosity toward each other. Alexei, who has his own family, was rudely asking Ilya for money because he knew how rich his brother is due to his blossoming career in the National Hockey League (NHL).
This money-leeching move from Alexei (Andrei in the books) was consistent in the Heated Rivalry novel. In Chapter Five of Rachel Reid's book of the same name, Andrei was asking for $20,000 for the simple reason of wanting to live his life. Andrei's act of getting money from the book effectively shows his resentment against his brother, mainly because Ilya was intelligent, attractive, and had a better life, while Andrei didn’t have many advantages.
As the book progresses, Heated Rivalry pulls back the curtain even more on Ilya's brother's hatred against him. In the novel's epilogue, after their father's death, Andrei continued to ask for Ilya's money, but he finally refused.
Meanwhile, in Heated Rivalry Episode 5, Alexei blames Ilya for "abandoning" him to take care of their dying father, further cementing the resentment that he had for his more successful brother.
Aside from the resentment that Ilya’s brother has, it's worth noting that Alexei (in the show) has a lot of shame about his reliance on Ilya, so he convinces himself that Ilya is a horrible person who deserves to have this money taken. This is on top of Alexei's disturbing addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Why Alexei & Ilya’s Father Had Something To Do With Their Conflict
It's worth noting that Ilya and Alexei had an emotionally abusive father named Grigori. While Grigori did favor Ilya's hockey achievements, he pushed him so hard that it made him resent his relationship with him.
He also neglected both of his sons emotionally, which also explains why Alexei resented caring for him alone, while Ilya enjoyed his fame and success abroad.
Alexei's unforgiving bitterness took a toll on Ilya, and he could've potentially realized that giving him money could have lessened his brother's hatred toward him. However, Ilya eventually woke up and saw that what his brother was doing to him was wrong. This is in addition to their father's death, which allowed him to escape the abusive cycle.
Thankfully, he found Shane Hollander as his newfound family (and romantic partner), and their love story made him leave the shadow of his abusive family.
