Boris Becker talks about Netflix show, politics and expensive divorces

He camped in a hut on the beach, hikes through the jungle in the score and paddling through a river with crocodiles in the boat: Ex-tennis professional Boris Becker can currently be seen in the Netflix series “Bear Hunt-The Celebrity Hunting”. In the jungle of Costa Rica, twelve celebrities have to fight for survival and must not be caught by the adventurer Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls. So far, Becker had rejected all inquiries about appearances in reality TV formats. “Every year I am called when it comes to formats like ‘I’m a celebrity’ and ‘Big Brother’. And every year I say no. I am not the classic reality show type,” he told the British daily newspaper “The Times”.

He explained that he still participated in the adventure format: “For me, it was about getting out of my comfort zone. I have never slept in a room with ten strangers; I’ve never been surrounded by snakes or crocodiles. And in mine I still want to challenge myself age, I want to do things that I have never done before. ” The excursion to the wilderness was short -lived for Becker: right from the start, he slipped off -road and contracted a meniscus tear and stretching of the inner ligament. On the advice of the doctors, he had to leave the show prematurely.

Giving up that is actually not his thing, said Becker of the “Times”. “I think you never lose your instinct for competitive. You don’t want to go out first. Maybe you don’t have to win, but you don’t want to be the last. , according to the 57-year-old. He accepted that there were numerous depths in his life in addition to many heights. In 2022, Becker in Great Britain was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for bankruptcy prison and had to serve seven months.

“Of course it is very embarrassing, and of course you are ashamed, but you shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself. If you feel like a victim, you will never make it. I never felt like a victim, and I tried very early to take responsibility for my actions, for good and bad. His financial problems, he has often told it, also resulted from the fact that he had trusted the wrong people. And he admitted that his two divorces and the maintenance for his children were expensive. “Divoracies are expensive. Even for very rich people. Children are expensive. A certain lifestyle is also expensive. So there is not just a problem. It is a combination of many,” said Becker.

Nevertheless, he married for the third time in September 2024. In Portofino Italian, he gave his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro the yes. Becker said about the wedding: “It was a very natural decision for me, and I am glad that she saw it the same way. We already lived like a man and woman, so the actual act was beautiful, romantic and all of that, but for that, but for Nothing changed me. ” For the first time in his life, he had the feeling of having a partner at eye level. “This is a real partnership. We got to know each other in the most difficult time of my life, and I think she saw something in me that was worth it, otherwise she would have given no chance to the whole,” quotes the “Times” Germans. Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro supported him during his court trial in London and also stopped him during his detention. The couple now lives together in Milan.

In the interview, Becker also said politically and revealed that he continues to vote in Germany, but the upcoming Bundestag election is worried to him. Above all, the strengthening of the AfD, but also the influence of men and entrepreneurs Elon Musk concerns him. “We are on a crossroads. We have to be careful not to forget the teachings from our past. I’m afraid of where Germany is going. I think it’s a dangerous time,” he said.

Sources: Netflix