"10 years since you asked me to be yours, I have never been happier" - Martina Navratilova's wife Julia Lemigova gushes over legend on Valentine's Day
Martina Navratilova's wife Julia Lemigova has sent a heartwarming Valentine's Day message to celebrate her relationship with the tennis legend.
Navratilova and Lemigova first met in 2000. Lemigova revisited the moment on The Real Housewives of Miami in 2021, saying:
"I looked at her and gave her a look across the bar, 'You have to come and talk to me.' It was a second and I turned away. She received the message."
According to Lemigova, Navratilova did come and talk to her, although nothing materialized between the two at the time. However, when they met again at the 2008 French Open, it didn't take long for them to bond.
"Exactly eight years later, on the day... deja vu, during the French Open, I bump into Martina and said, 'How about a breakfast?' We had a breakfast the next day, and then the next day, and then the third day. And then she moved in," Lemigova said on The Real Housewives of Miami.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion decided to take their relationship to the next level during the 2014 US Open. Navratilova proposed to the former Miss USSR, with the proposal being shown on Arthur Ashe Stadium's big screen.
To celebrate this year's Valentine's Day, Lemigova sent a message to her wife alongside a photo of the proposal. The message also included an engagement ring emoji surrounded by two black heart emojis.
"My forever Valentine!! It's been 10 years since you've asked me to (be) yours and I have never been happier," Lemigova wrote in an Instagram post.
Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova's adoption plans came to a halt in 2023
Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova had a harrowing experience in early 2023 as the former was diagnosed with throat and breast cancers. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Lemigova revealed that the couple had plans of adopting a child, but Navratilova's double cancer diagnosis stalled those.
"We'd had our home study done, were literally a phone call away from them letting us know there is a child who could be part of our family. Instead, we were struck with dealing with two cancers," Lemigova said.
In June 2023, after months of undergoing treatment, Navratilova announced that she had been declared free of cancer.
"After a day full of tests at Sloan Kettering, I got the all clear! Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians etc- what a relief!" Navratilova wrote on X (formerly Twitter).