Former tennis star Boris Becker has raised eyebrows over his marriage to 34-year-old Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro given their 23-year age difference.
The couple were seen attending the Sport-Bild Awards in Hamburg in August ahead of expecting their first child together in June.
Following the couple’s pregnancy announcement, they celebrated Boris’s 40th anniversary of winning Wimbledon in 1985, the pair jetted off on a romantic holiday to Portofino, Italy.
Boris, who currently lives in Milan with Lilian, has been married twice before and has four children in total.
Indeed, the couple are not the only high-profile names in sport to enter a relationship with a huge age gap between one another.
From an NBA hero who found love with a college athlete to an NFL legend whose girlfriend is 49 years younger than him, here are some of the most prevalent examples of sports personalities being in relationships with a gap bigger than the Central Line platforms at Bank.
Boris Becker
Boris Becker was outshone by his glamorous pregnant wife Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro as the couple attended the Sport-Bild Award in Hamburg
The former tennis player looked smart look in a dark suit with maroon tie while attending the event with political risk analyst Lilian
Ex-tennis player Becker, 57, looked smart look in a dark suit with maroon tie while attending the aforementioned event with political risk analyst Lilian, 34.
The couple – who announced they are expecting the first child together in June – appeared to be very smitten with one another as they attended the ceremony.
Following the couple’s pregnancy announcement, they celebrated Boris’s 40th anniversary of winning Wimbledon in 1985, the pair jetted off on a romantic holiday to Portofino, Italy.
It came less than one year after the couple’s lavish wedding ceremony in Portofino, Italy, that Boris’s youngest children – 23-year-old daughter Anna and son, Amadeus, 15 – skipped.
Boris, who currently lives in Milan with Lilian, has been married twice before and has four children in total.
He welcomed his firstborn, a son named Noah Gabriel, now 30, in 1994 with his wife Barbara Feltus. Their second child, Elias Balthasar, was born in 1999.
The ex-couple separated after Boris had a one-night stand with Russian model Angela Ermakova during an encounter at London restaurant Nobu the same year.
In an interview, Boris said he left Barbara after she kept bringing up his affair with Angela as he appeared to suggest their marriage broke down because she used his infidelity as a ‘joker card’ during arguments.
Following the couple’s pregnancy announcement, they celebrated Boris’s 40th anniversary of winning Wimbledon in 1985, the pair jetted off on a romantic holiday to Portofino, Italy
‘For months nobody knew yet [about the baby],’ he said. ‘But then every little thing we discussed, she came back with the joker card and said: ‘You shut the f*** up, because if the world knew what you had done, you are lost.’
Boris and Barbara’s divorce was finalised in 2001 after agreeing a £10million settlement.
His second marriage to Dutch former model Lily Kerssenberg also ended acrimoniously when the pair split after nine years in 2018.
In 2023, Lily alleged that Boris ‘threw me and our son’ Amadeus out of the house in an interview with German media outlet Bild, adding: ‘I left him in 2018 and he can’t forgive me for that.’
‘When I left five years ago, he took away my house and car keys,’ the actress continued.
‘He threw me and our son out of the house. I didn’t have a penny in cash, didn’t know where to go. We spent the first night on a bench in a cafe.’
At the time, she also alleged that Boris ‘doesn’t pay a penny in child support’ and rarely saw his son but added ‘I believe that he loves’ him.
Bill Belichick
He’s a sports star- she’s a cheerleader – it’s a tale as old as time. But in this instance, it’s 73-year-old Bill Belichick , an American football legend, and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson – who is 49 years his junior. Both pictured in February
Legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick is currently in a relationship with Jordon Hudson – who is 49 years his junior.
He has found himself firmly in the spotlight after the controversial romance came to light shortly after breaking things off with his partner of 16 years.
The couple saw their relationship ruthlessly propelled into the spotlight in April when footage emerged of her interrupting a conversation with Tony Dokoupil.
Wince-worthy scenes sparked an outpouring of dismay around the pairing, from friends publicly vowing to intervene on Bill’s behalf to former players he coached questioning his sanity.
Jordon was described as ‘a constant presence during the interview,’ lurking off camera.
As Bill was quizzed on their love story, he brushed off critics who have relentlessly trolled the couple for their near half-century age difference,
‘[I’ve] Never been too bothered about what everyone else thinks. Just try to do what I feel is best for me and what’s right,’ the sports star, who was wearing a sweater with tears in it, bluntly responded.
The host continued to ask the age-old question of how the couple met – an encounter that is reported to have taken place on a flight – but Jordon swiftly intervened.
The couple saw their relationship ruthlessly propelled into the spotlight last month when footage emerged of her interrupting a conversation with Tony Dokoupil
In December they made their ‘red carpet debut’ at the Museum Gala in New York. Both pictured together
‘We’re not talking about this,’ she said firmly, shutting Dokoupil down when he turned to clarify with an emphatic, ‘no’.
That follows his previous relationship with TV host Linda Holliday, 62, which saw the former partners having first dated each other in 2007.
The former New England Patriots coach also has three children from his marriage to Debby Clark Belichick – after they tied the knot in 1977.
They have three children, a daughter named Amanda – and two sons – named Stephen and Brian.
Steve Nash
Steve Nash’s first marriage saw him tie the knot with Alejandra Amarilla in 2005
However, In March 2016, he became engaged to Lilla Frederick, a former college volleyball player and they went on to marry one in September 2016
Steve Nash’s first marriage saw him tie the knot with Alejandra Amarilla in 2005 after they had met in New York City in 2001.
The pair would then go on to have twin daughters and a son together – although they announced they were planning to divorce in 2010 while at the same time breaking news of the birth of their son.
In 2006, Nash denied a relationship with singer Nelly Furtado, who name-checked him in her hit song Promiscuous, singing: ‘Is that the truth or are you talkin’ trash? Is your game MVP like Steve Nash?’
He said at the time: ‘I’m flattered that [Nelly] put me in her song, but I’m completely in love with my wife and two little baby girls.’
However, In March 2016, he became engaged to Lilla Frederick, a former college volleyball player and they went on to marry one in September 2016 when Frederick aged just 26 and Nash aged 42.
While the couple have frequently posted pictures of their lives together on social media, it is not known how the pair met.
Frederick gave birth to their son, Luca, in 2017, and the sports star and his young bride were ecstatic about the new addition to their family.
Posting to Instagram to mark the occasion at the time, Nash wrote: ‘Mom’s a serious champ and we’re in love with this little guy.’
Two years later, they welcome a second child into their family following the birth of their daughter, Ruby.
Tommy Fleetwood
Twenty-three years her husband’s senior at 57, Clare candidly admitted in 2023 that public scrutiny surrounding their age gap had initially placed strain on the relationship.
Fleetwood, 34, is 23 years younger than his wife, 57, and they have a son together called Frankie
Twenty-three years her husband’s senior at 57, Clare candidly admitted in 2023 that public scrutiny surrounding their age gap had initially placed strain on the relationship.
‘It kind of is and isn’t. I mean it was way more at the beginning,’ the 57-year-old told the Performance People podcast.
‘It was kind of not actually for us, but it was just again thinking what other people are thinking about all the time and within the industry.
‘It was kind of big news in our circle, so I was a little bit paranoid about all that, really. But not for any reason of our relationship, and I had full faith once we fell in love.’
Fleetwood was first introduced to his now-wife in 2015, through his brother.
Clare initially served as Fleetwood’s agent before the pair began a romantic relationship, and they tied the knot two years later.
The couple, who have lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2022, have a son together called Frankie, while Clare has two older children from a previous relationship.
‘We’ve got a 23-year age difference,’ she said when explaining why she turned him down in the early stages of their romance. Of course, I turned him down. I was like, “Don’t be stupid.”
Clare has two sons from a previous relationship, and a son called Frankie with Fleetwood
The couple met through Fleetwood’s brother, with Clare working in sport management
But Fleetwood ultimately won his future wife around with persistence.
Clare continues to manage her husband’s sporting career and says this gives her a full understanding of the man she shares her life with.
‘I know everything on every side – so there’s the sponsorship side, the logistics side, the PR side, the accounts side, everything,’ she elaborated.
‘Maybe sometimes too much, you know, because then that’s all I think about sometimes, but that’s just the different dynamic.
‘I look at one question – it might have 15 answers for me. Do you know what I mean? It’s a little bit more complicated for me because I see things, you know, like, are we going to live?
‘I don’t see it as a lifestyle choice necessarily, I’ll look at it as a business choice as well.’
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