Music video meet-cute: Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova are living out our rom-com dreams

From music video makeout to four kids and a (hypothetical) white picket fence, Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova are living in a real life rom-com.

The couple, who just surprised fans with the arrival of their fourth child after keeping the pregnancy secret, have been together over 20 years now, and it all started back on the set of Iglesias' 2001 Escape music video.

At the time, Iglesias appeared on MTV's Making The Video, where he said, "I've never met her before, but I'm a big fan." 

"I'm sure a lot of guys want to meet her. I'm one of them. She's beautiful, talented, great tennis player, you know, and I'm sure she's going to be great in the video."

And great she was.

Their chemistry was obvious to anyone with a functioning pair of eyes and we won't spoil how it ends for those who haven't seen it... all we will say is that it's steamy. 

"[The video changed my life] in ways that I didn't even think about," Iglesias told People in a recent interview. 

It wasn't until 2002 that the couple hard-launched their relationship, appearing on the MTV VMA's red carpet hand in hand.

At the time, Kournikova was reaching the end of the golden years of her tennis career, winning a slew of competitions in the late '90s before retiring from competitive tennis in 2003 at 21 years old due to serious back and spinal injuries.

"When we met – although she came from the sports world – in a way, we kind of got each other," Iglesias told People.

"She knew what my world was like. I kind of knew what her world was like. So that understanding helped a lot.

"We just started connecting little by little and got stronger and stronger and stronger."

But their relationship hasn't been exempt from some wild stories spun on the rumour mill. 

Engagement rumours were sparked in 2003 following Kournikova's appearance at an exhibition tennis match wearing a large pink diamond ring, followed by whispers that the duo had secretly wed in Mexico.

The rumours were quickly dispelled by the duo's representatives. 

It wasn't until 2007 that their relationship would come back into the public eye, but this time for all the wrong reasons.

It seems Iglesias has an interesting sense of humour about him.

Speaking with Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, he revealed that the couple had not only secretly been married, but had now also gotten a divorce. 

"I am single now, but that's OK. I don't mind being alone," he said. 

His team quickly got in touch with People to reveal that it was all in fact, 'just a joke'. Funny one, Enrique. 

Their relationship seemed to survive the prank, with the couple remaining strong into their fifth year together.

However, Kournikova shocked fans when she revealed she had no intentions of marrying Iglesias. 

Speaking with reporters, Iglesias revealed, "I always try [to propose] but she pays me no attention."

But it seems the distaste wasn't personal. In an interview with People, Kournikova revealed that the whole 'holy matrimony' thing just wasn't really for her. 

"I'm never getting married," she said, before reminding fans, "Everything is good."

Over the years, the couple continued to speak on their decision not to marry, with Iglesias saying to Parade in 2012, "I've never really thought [it] would make a difference. 

"Maybe it's because I come from divorced parents, but I don't think you love someone more because of a piece of paper. 

"Nowadays, it's not taboo to have kids and not be married. What makes a difference is that you're a good parent, period."

And at the time, it was no secret that the two were looking to start a family. 

"I absolutely want to have children," Kournikova told Women's Health. "Whether I have my own or adopt. I love taking care of people."

The couple have always notoriously kept their relationship out of the public eye and in a 2011 interview with Today Tonight, Iglesias spoke about why they had made that choice. 

"It's not that tough [to stay under the radar]," he said. 

"You've got to have a sense of humour. [There have been rumours] I've been married about 28 times, have kids all over the world. … I think I've got twins in Australia, in Perth. Truly, you just laugh at it."

But it seems that the public weren't the only ones the duo had been hiding from, with Iglesias revealing that after 10 years together, his partner had still never met his dad. 

"The last 14 years, 15 years of my life have flown by. And that's the only way I can truly explain it," he told Billboard. "There's no reason why – it's not his fault, and it's not my fault."

For the next three years, the couple mostly kept to themselves, with Kournikova sharing a rare photo of the pair with her younger brother, celebrating her 35th birthday to Instagram.

In 2017, Iglesias and Kournikova welcomed twins Nicholas and Lucy, with their third child, Mary, arriving just three years later in 2020.

In 2023, Iglesias spoke with People about life as a parent, explaining that he and Kournikova have been learning as they go. 

"You have your good times, your bad times, and if you can get through the bad times, you'll get to the really good times," he said. 

"A lot of people say, 'Oh, well, I know this is the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.' I do kind of agree with that, but at the same time, you really never know where life is going to take you and what can happen."

Kournikova and Iglesias mostly kept their three children out of the limelight, only occasionally posting a sweet snap of their little ones.

However, Iglesias revealed that the trio are his biggest fans.

"When I pick them up from school and they're having a bad day or one of them is crying or they're fighting, we say, 'Guys, what's your favorite song?'," he told People. 

"And then one breaks out into 'I Like It,' and then they all start singing it, and it's so cute,"

"I'm just enjoying now. I'm enjoying every single day."

Now that trio has turned into a quad with the couple announcing the arrival of their fourth child.

Kournikova and Iglesias revealed that they welcomed the family's newest addition on December 17 in a heartfelt Instagram post.

They posted a picture of the newborn with the simple caption: "My sunshine", and the date the baby was born.

The news came as a complete surprise to fans as the couple did not announce they were expecting.

Back in 2021, Iglesias revealed that although his kids are his biggest fan, there is one piece of work from his repertoire that they haven't quite been able to wrap their heads around yet. 

"I think my kids have already seen – well, I think, no, I know my kids have already seen that video," Iglesias said. "And they're putting two and two together. Like, 'Oh, really?'," he told The Jess Cagle Show.

"Whenever they hear one of my songs they can actually recognise my voice, which is pretty cool. 

"But when they watch that video, I think it does throw them off a little bit. 'What is Mum doing there?' you know, 'with Dad' you know? 'When was this?'"

"It's actually incredible to watch the expression on their faces. It's pretty cool."

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