"Pete Sampras was freaked out, he wasn’t doing anything" - When American's wife Bridgette Wilson admitted to being "stressed" after birth of 1st child
Pete Sampras' wife Bridgette Wilson once opened up about navigating the challenges they faced as first-time parents to their son Christian. Wilson also disclosed how their experience changed after they welcomed their second son.
Sampras and Wilson began dating in 1999. In his book 'A Champion's Mind,' the former World No. 1 recounted that he knew she was "the one" after being "smitten" by her on their first date. On September 30, 2000, he tied the knot with the actress and former Miss Teen USA in a private ceremony in the backyard of their California home.
They welcomed their first son, Christian, in November 2002. Their second son, Ryan, was born in July 2005. The couple's experience with parenting differed greatly with each child, as they overcame the uncertainty they faced the first time around.
In a 2009 interview with People, Pete Sampras' wife Bridgette Wilson admitted to feeling very "stressed" out after the birth of their son Christian, revealing that Sampras was too "freaked out" to offer much help at the time.
"The first time around as a mom, I held on really tight and I was so stressed. Pete was a little freaked out so he wasn’t doing anything. And we were like, 'What’s happening here?'" she said.
Although the pair was "more confident" and had developed a "rhythm" when it came to parenting their second son, they also faced new challenges. Sampras and Wilson found themselves in need of a break to "stay connected" to each other outside their role as parents.
Bridgette Wilson was reluctant to leave their sons behind due to their "nightmare experiences" with babysitters, but Pete Sampras convinced her to entrust her mother with the task so they could have some time to themselves.
"Pete was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ll fly your mom down! Can we just spend the night, one night somewhere?’ I said, ‘Okay, sure.’ You have to stay connected to each other. I know my husband felt not so much a part of it and [when he felt] not a part of me, it made everything so much harder. That was a lesson that took me a while to learn," she said.
Pete Sampras' wife Bridgette Wilson: "We had to give each other permission to be different as parents"
In the same interview, Pete Sampras' wife Bridgette Wilson revealed that they allowed each other to have different parenting styles, expressing her belief that having both approaches benefited their sons.
"We had to give each other permission to be different as parents. That’s why there’s a mom and dad with two different approaches because you do need both," she said.
The Sampras family was rocked by Bridgette Wilson's devastating ovarian cancer diagnosis in December 2022, with the 14-time Grand Slam champion revealing that she underwent major surgery, chemotherapy and targeted maintenance therapy to combat the disease.
Although Pete Sampras admitted that it was "hard to watch" his wife struggle, he disclosed that he was amazed to see their sons "step up" and support the family.