Love Stories: Glance across a room sparked romance for Martina Navratilova and wife Julia Lemigova
It was a glance that lasted mere seconds, yet Martina Navratilova was intrigued.
The former Czech-American tennis legend was at a nightclub in Paris in 2000 when model Julia Lemigova locked eyes with her from across the room. They talked and then parted ways.
They would meet again by chance eight years later.
Today, Navratilova and Lemigova have been married for 10 years. Here, we look back at the story between the power couple and their great love.
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Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova first met in 2000, and reunited in a chance meeting in 2008. Instagram/ @julialemigova
Lemigova, a former Russian beauty queen, had hoped she sent a clear message when she glanced over at Navratilova on the first night they met.
"I looked at her and gave her a look across the bar: 'You have to come and talk to me,'" she recalled in a 2023 interview.
"It was a second and I turned away. She received the message. She came to talk to me and introduced herself.
"But unfortunately, that was the end of our moment. Something could have happened, but it didn't."
Sparks didn't fly that day, yet fate would step in. Eight years to the very day of their first meeting, Navratilova and Lemigova met again.
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Navratilova is a former tennis champion who won 18 grand slam singles titles, including Wimbledon. Getty
"We bumped into each other in the players' restaurant," Lemigova told the New York Post in 2022.
"I literally bumped into her with a tray of food. She remembered me. And I asked her to have breakfast with me the next day.
"Then we had another breakfast the next day and then one more breakfast. And then she moved in."
In the early stages of their relationship, the couple lived together out of the public eye.
Navratilova was open about her sexuality, while Lemigova was private.
"I must have hurt Martina so much because she's a pioneer of LGBTQ liberation and being herself," Lemigova said.
Julia Lemigova was a fashion model before she become famous for her time as a reality star. Julia Lemigova/Instagram
"When she tried to hold my hand, I would say, 'Darling, we cannot do this. We're in Paris. What if somebody sees us, the neighbours?'"
It's moments like this Lemigova now regrets.
"I don't even know how she stayed with me for so long. It's only when I came to Miami that I was open," she said.
"This town helped me come out of the closet. And then I was thinking, 'Oh my god, what a fool I was. How could I wait for so long?'"
For Lemigova, bringing Navratilova into her life meant introducing her to her family.
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Lemigova credits Navratilova with helping her through the grief of her infant son's death. Instagram/ @julialemigova
Lemigova has three children from previous relationships – two daughters, Victoria and Emma, and a son, Maximilian.
Her son tragically died in 2000 from shaken baby syndrome while in the care of a nanny. He was just five months old.
She credits the 18-time grand slam winner with supporting her through the grief.
Lemigova said her daughters also helped her come out to others.
"When I saw my two girls standing up to their friends and saying, 'Yeah, we have two mums,' and I saw them, and it's like, 'Oh my god. My girls came out faster than me!' " she told NBC News.
Navratilova took the reality star by surprise when she got down on one knee and proposed at the US Open in 2014. Julia Lemigova/Instagram
"And then it was like, 'Boom, boom.' I never, ever looked back."
In 2014, Navratilova proposed in public, on camera, on bended knee to the reality star during the US Open in New York.
"Originally it wasn't the idea to do it at the US Open, on the Jumbotron and all that, but then it was, 'Why not? I've seen it in movies!' " Navratilova told People in 2014.
"And it all came off, everything worked out perfectly!"
Lemigova remembers the moment fondly.
"I was so overwhelmed and completely surprised," Lemigova said, "but I would not expect anything less from Martina."
The couple's wedding guest list included some very famous faces, such as Brooke Shields (second from left). Julia Lemigova/Instagram
The couple married in a private ceremony in 2014 with a celebrity guest list including US actresses Brooke Shields and Lynda Carter, tennis champ Chris Evert and models Karolina Kurkova and Rachel Hunter.
In 2021, the pair made history as the first same-sex couple on the Real Housewives franchise.
In recent years, Navratilova and Lemigova had planned to expand their family through adoption.
However, plans were put on pause in 2023, when Navratilova battled both throat and breast cancer.
"Yeah, so I think it was a nice thought for a while. But I think this kind of brought it to sharp focus. You know, I'm not the youngest anymore and I don't wanna be the grandma on the playground," she told Piers Morgan.
"But forget that part, it's just uh, there's just not enough space, I think, for this to happen. So we will think about adopting but, that's definitely put on hold I don't think its gonna happen."
The cancer battle was the second for the tennis ace. She underwent treatment for early-stage breast cancer in 2010.
"This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I'm hoping for a favourable outcome," she said in a statement in January 2023.
A few months later, after a series of tests and treatment, she announced she was cancer free. It paved the path for Lemigova to return to thoughts about family.
Navratilova, 67, and Lemigova, 52, revealed in August 2024 that they have adopted two sons.
"We are over the moon recognising the challenges and the rewards for everybody," Navratilova shared in a statement provided to People.
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