The love story of tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova began with a chance encounter in a bar in 2000, only to be rekindled eight years later at the French Open. Their connection deepened swiftly, culminating in a memorable public proposal at the 2014 U.S. Open. Now married for a decade and residing in Miami, the couple shares a vibrant life with their two daughters, two sons, five Belgian Malinois dogs, turtles, and a cat. Despite the demands of Navratilova’s career as a traveling tennis commentator, Lemigova’s consistent admiration for her partner’s professionalism is hard to ignore.
On March 27th, Navratilova, who is currently in Florida covering the Miami Open as a prominent commentator, shared a post highlighting her interaction with Frenchman Arthur Fils, who notably defeated World No. 2 Alexander Zverev to reach the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Jakub Mensik.
The post showed Navratilova talking to Fils about his R16 victory as the caption read, “A thrilling win for Arthur Fils today at the Miami Open – watch @skysporttennis to see how the semi finals turn out @miamiopen”
Showing her support from afar, Julia Lemigova took to her social media on the same, giving a shout-out to her wife, saying, “Martina at Work ” A simple, yet, romantic gesture, isn’t it? Lemigova couldn’t help but drop “” under the post.
Recently, the couple also celebrated their 10-year anniversary, last month, marking a decade of marriage since their wedding in New York on December 15, 2014. At that time, Lemigova revealed glimpses from their special day with a post featuring their moments together. Their dog Lulu and close friend Sami Gayle were also there, joining them for the anniversary lunch.
Alongside the post, Lemigova wrote, “Celebrating 10 years of marriage on Valentine’s Day! thank you to my friends for an amazing lunch! @samigayle” Even Navratilova’s longtime tennis rival and friend Chris Evert couldn’t stop herself from extending her wishes. Commenting on the pictures, she wrote, “Still crazy about each other! So happy for you!”
But you might be wondering by now: how did Navratilova and Lemigova’s love story actually begin in that Paris nightclub? Let’s get on a nostalgic trip!
When Julia Lemigova spilled the beans on her love saga with wife Martina Navratilova
During an interview with BravoTV, in December 2023, the former Russian model talked about her first interaction with Martina Navratilova. Even before talking, she made her intentions clear by glancing at the former tennis icon in the Paris nightclub. “I looked at her and gave her a look across the bar: ‘You have to come and talk to me,’” she recalled.
“It was a second and I turned away. She received the message. She came to talk to me and introduced herself. But unfortunately, that was the end of our moment. Something could have happened, but it didn’t.” While this first meeting didn’t start the love story in full flow, their fates eventually made it happen.
After eight years, they met again. “We bumped into each other in the players’ restaurant,” Lemigova told the New York Post in 2022. “I literally bumped into her with a tray of food. She remembered me. And I asked her to have breakfast with me the next day. Then we had another breakfast the next day and then one more breakfast. And then she moved in.” And after dating for six years, Navratilova was the one who took the first step.
At the US Open in 2014, she came up with the marriage proposal. “Originally it wasn’t the idea to do it at the US Open, on the Jumbotron and all that, but then it was, ‘Why not? I’ve seen it in movies!‘ ” The tennis legend told People magazine in 2014.
Later that year, they married in a private ceremony, with Navratilova’s bestie Evert acting as her maid of honor. Since then, they’ve had an extremely lovely journey so far. One can simply say the two are really made for each other. Aren’t they?
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