Martina Navratilova and her wife adopted twins and made their happiness complete. Cancer almost prevented everything.
Her life story reads like an almost unbelievable novel. On the tennis court, Martina Navratilova (67) has won everything and beaten everyone. In life and in love, she almost lost everything. Then she met and fell in love with Russian top model Julia Lemigova (52). Now the two have adopted two sons, making their family happiness complete. What makes the dream couple so special that they describe it as a “match made in heaven”?
“Challenges and rewards for all”
“We are overjoyed and see the challenges and rewards for everyone,” wrote Navratilova and Lemigova in a short statement about the adoption of their two young sons. They have not yet revealed any further details. Understandable after all the drama that the couple has had to endure in the past two years alone. Now, peace and quiet should return to the new home of their little adopted sons. There, the two newcomers will also meet Julia’s two daughters Emma and Victoria, whom she brought into her marriage with Navratilova. Thus, piece by piece, a perfect family puzzle is coming together in Navratilova’s life, which for a long time seemed unattainable.
Navratilova’s multiple victories over cancer
On the tennis court, it was easy for Martina Navratilova to defeat her opponents. In the 80s and 90s, she set records for eternity with 167 tournament victories in singles and 177 victories in doubles. With her offensive style of play, she literally overwhelmed her opponents: serve, rush to the net, volley, point. So simple, so successful.
Her cancer diagnoses, which she received in 2010 and 2022, posed challenges of a completely different kind. After she managed to beat breast cancer in 2010, the renewed double cancer diagnosis two years ago must have been a deep shock for Navratilova: oropharyngeal cancer and breast cancer again. This put all of the couple’s adoption plans on hold for the time being: “When you adopt a child, it has to be about the child. And right now everything revolves around Martina and her getting healthy,” Lemigova said at the time in the US reality series “The Real Housewives of Miami”, in which she appears. In June 2023, after another battle, Navratilova finally announced that she was cancer-free. Nothing stood in the way of the adoption now.
Relationships end in court
Navratilova has overcome countless insurmountable barriers in her life. The Prague native came out in 1980 after discovering her love for women. But her relationships still ended in court. She lived with former professional basketball player Nancy Lieberman (66) for several years. She later paid Lieberman $120,000 in exchange for her keeping quiet about their time together. This was followed by a relationship with author Judy Nelson (79). She also settled her financial situation in 1991: for a reported $10 million. Navratilova shook up the traditional tennis world, in which real men wore sweatbands and real women wore pleated skirts. But so did her own emotional life.
Between statelessness and happiness in love
In 1978, the soon-to-be best tennis player in the world had already applied for expatriation from the Czech Republic to the USA, but her application was initially unsuccessful. At that time, Navratilova was temporarily “stateless”. In 1980, the first rumors about her love life began to emerge. There was talk of a relationship with the successful US author Rita Mae Brown (79). In 1981, after years of waiting, she was finally recognized as a US citizen. However, the breakthrough to happiness in love was still a long way off.
“I’m not a tennis fan, but I knew who she was”
In 2000, their eyes met in a bar in Paris: Julia Lemigova, former “Miss USSR” and top model, was sitting at one end of the bar, and Navratilova was at the other. “I’ve modeled, lived in Paris and met all these incredible people – famous people, royals,” says Lemigova. “I’m not a tennis fan, but of course I knew who she was.” At the time, she signaled to Navratilova with her eyes: “You have to come and talk to me.” And indeed: It only took a few seconds and the famous tennis player was standing in front of her. But the sparks between them didn’t fly for the time being. It took almost a decade until they met again in Paris in 2008. A shared breakfast turned into friendship and then much more. In 2014, Navratilova publicly proposed to Julia at the US Open, which they both fulfilled by getting married in December of the same year.
Julia’s daughters as crucial support
Since the beginning of their love journey together, the former top model and the tennis legend have been able to rely on two persistent supporters: Julia’s now grown-up daughters. When asked “Who is Martina?” in 2008, she explained to both of them: “Martina is someone I love. I can’t imagine life without her.” “Her eyes went really wide,” says Lemigova, after which Emma said to her: “I want her to live with us.” And her daughters even helped her with her own coming out: “When I saw my two girls stand up in front of their friends and say: ‘Yes, we have two mothers,’ I thought: ‘Oh my God. My girls were faster than me.'”
Her wedding to Navratilova – maid of honor at the time was actress Brooke Shields (59) – on December 15, 2014 also gave other same-sex couples a lot of courage, said Lemigova. “I think it’s important to see couples like us getting married.” The adoption of their two sons is the crowning moment of the famous couple’s sometimes rocky journey together. And there is no doubt that both will master this chapter of their lives brilliantly.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
