I do think that Irina's model potential gets 80 % of the credit, but being associated to Kate was a key factor in her career,that's undeniable, that was a turning point in her career,that's not JUST being related to her appearing in Vogue-Paris but the fact that she was featuring in one of the best selling issue due to Kate's being famous but I guess it doesn't have something to do with Kate's choosing her per se but with Kate being very famous which implies that anyone who revolves around her gets to be in the limelight.
I get the point about the fact that Irina dated Pete before Kate met him but I guess there is a HUGE difference between dating a close friend's ex which doesn't leave any sequel and dating a close friend's ex who has hurt them.Don't tell me 'Oh but Kate has moved on', I would never date my friend's ex if he had hurt/cheated on her.
Besides, there is another difference, Kate was straight up Pete's girlfriend, Irina had obviously lingering feelings while still being friend with Kate, otherwise she wouldn't have been on and off with him, I mean I'm sorry but to me it sounds a bit like 'Hey I'm so your friend while you're with him and once you're over I'll take him back'.There's something about it that doesn't sound fairplay, but that might be just my subjective point of view.