Martina Navratilova’s wife, Julia Lemigova, once opened up about her joyful marriage to the former World No. 1. Since Lemigova stars on the Real Housewives of Miami, their relationship has often captured public attention, with the Russian revealing how she felt about that.
Navratilova and Lemigova began dating after a chance encounter at the 2008 French Open, which took place eight years after they first crossed paths with one another. The 18-time Grand Slam champion proposed to Lemigova at the 2014 US Open, and the couple tied the knot later that year. Navratilova also embraced a parental role in the lives of the Russian’s two daughters, Victoria and Emma, from previous relationships.
In a 2022 interview with Bravo Insider, Julia Lemigova shared her reasons for joining the Real Housewives of Miami reality TV series. She disclosed that she relished the opportunity to give fans a peek into her and Martina Navratilova’s “crazy” farm life at home and glamorous public lifestyle.
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"I'm happy to share real things with people and show them highlights on how we live: our family, our kids, our multiple animals family. It makes me smile that people connect with my crazy farm life and glam life and they relate to this, and I'm happy to share it with them if it can help somebody, if it can entertain somebody, you know, I'm game. And I'm all for it," Lemigova said.
Lemigova also opened up about her happy married life with Navratilova, emphasizing that their relationship was no different than a marriage between a heterosexual couple.
"I think our marriage is just like any other happy marriage. We have each other. We have our life. We have a family. There's no difference between [a] gay marriage or [a] straight couple marriage. Marriage is a marriage. Our life may be the only way a little bit more different is because we have both sides of this farm [life] and the glam life. You know, usually people have maybe one type of life. But life is too short, and I love it so much," she added.
After putting the move on hold while Martina Navratilova was battling cancer, Julia Lemigova and the 18-time Grand Slam champion adopted two young boys in late 2024. Navratilova shared that they were both "over the moon" as they dealt with the journey of parenthood.
Martina Navratilova's wife Julia Lemigova on their adopted sons: "When we first got them, we thought we are saving them, but we're saving each other"
In a 2024 interview with People, Julia Lemigova offered an inside look into her and Martina Navratilova's life with their two adopted sons. The Real Housewives of Miami star disclosed that Navratilova had taken to the new responsibility with joy, delightedly being in charge of their morning routine.
Lemigova also emotionally expressed her belief that she and Navratilova hadn't saved their sons, but rather they were all "saving each other." She also welcomed the feeling of being a new mother again after becoming an empty nester when her daughters struck out on their own.
"She's making pancakes in the morning, taking them to school. She's so energized. When we first got them, we thought we are saving them, but in reality, we're both saving each other. And seeing them, like waking up in the morning with their little faces and what joy it brought into our life. It's like [being] a new mother again all of a sudden after being an empty nester," Martina Navratilova's wife said.
Julia Lemigova further revealed that the arrival of their sons had led Martina Navratilova to finally live up to her promise of spending less time on X (formerly Twitter) because all her attention was devoted to their children.
