Boris Becker ‘proposes to loyal girlfriend at Milan Cathedral’

Boris Becker has proposed to his loyal girlfriend who stood by him when he was jailed for hiding £2.5m of assets, reports claim. 

The former tennis star, 55, is said to have got down on one knee to pop the question to Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro at Italy’s historic Milan Cathedral.

Ms Monteiro started dating the three-time Wimbledon champion in the summer of 2020 after he split with his ex-wife Lilly in 2018 following nine years of marriage. 

She was a constant presence by Becker’s side while attending court hearings and even blew him a goodbye kiss when he was jailed last year and blasted by a judge for showing no remorse.

A source told the Sun: ‘Boris is incredibly grateful to Lilian for staying with him through ‘the hardest time’ of his life.

Ms Monteiro was regularly seen by Becker’s side when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court last year to face insolvency charges

Ms Monteiro started dating the three-time Wimbledon champion in the summer of 2020 after he split with his ex-wife Lilly in 2018 following nine years of marriage

‘He said, ‘she saved me, and I will never forget her for that. She is the woman of my new life!’

London-based Ms Monteiro is a political risk analyst and has three degrees, including a masters in African studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and speaks five languages, including German, according to German newspaper Bild. 

She was born in the African island state of São Tomé and Príncipe and is the daughter of Victor Monteiro, the republic’s former Minister of Defence who ran for the presidency in 2014.

Ms Monteiro spent much of her youth in Rome where she attended a private school before studying at the University of La Sapienza.

She first came to London to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies, where she earned her master’s degree at the age of 25.

She was in her 40s when she first met father-of-four Becker – who had been married twice before, to Lilly between 2009 and 2018, and Barbara Becker from 1993 to 2001. 

The couple seen together during an exhibition in Mallorca on August 13, 2021. They are thought to have met in June 2020

The couple pictured at the Almauftrieb Kaefer’s Koa Wiesn 2.0 event at Restaurant Kaefer-Schaenke, Munich, Germany in September 2021

Becker was declared bankrupt in June 2017, owing creditors almost £50million over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain. 

The former BBC pundit transferred around £390,000 from his business account to others, including those of his ex-wives Barbara and Lilly.

He also failed to declare his share in a £1million property in his home town of Leimen, Germany, hid a bank loan of almost £700,000 – worth £1.1million with interest – and concealed 75,000 shares in a tech firm, valued at £66,000.

Becker was jailed in April last year after being found guilty of four Insolvency Act offences between June and October 2017.

He spent eight months behind bars in the UK before being released and deported to Germany in December.

This week, estranged wife Lilly claimed Becker kept horses in his bedroom to hide them from debt collectors.

‘The guy tries to go into the master bedroom but Boris had hid the horses. You have to pay taxes on them and he hadn’t,’ his second wife revealed in a new tell-all documentary.

Lilly previously said her ex-husband’s sentence ‘ruined his reputation’, and has slammed him for neglecting his family, even claiming that she and their young son had to sleep on a bench after they split.

Also this week, Becker shared a video of him commentating on Wimbledon from a dimly lit bar on his mobile phone – a far cry from his years in the BBC gantry as one of the most recognisable voices of the championship.

Also this week, Becker shared a video of him commentating on Wimbledon from a dimly lit bar on his mobile phone – a far cry from his years in the BBC gantry as one of the most recognisable voices of the championship 

Speaking over loud music during a video on Instagram, he offered his opinion on Stefanos Tsitsipas, who prevailed in a five-set battle against Dominic Thiem on Wednesday, before going on to beat Andy Murray yesterday.

Referring to himself in the third person, Becker, who now lives in Italy, also invited fans to ask him about his tennis career as well as his favourite food.

‘If you have any questions around Wimbledon, what to do and what not to do and anything else you ever wanted to know about Boris Becker regarding his tennis career, and his favourite dishes and so on…just ask,’ he says to the phone camera.