Being the wife of Martina Navratilova doesn’t come without its problems, her partner of over a decade has revealed.
Former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, 45, who married Martina, 60, in 2015 after nine years together, has revealed that while the Grand Slam legend was renowned for her flawless serve and volley, her off-court behaviour isn’t always perfect.
Julia, who first met Martina 17 years ago in a Parisian gay bar, has revealed that she’s run out of patience with the nine-time Wimbledon champion’s social media obsession – not to mention her penchant for ‘butch’ baseball caps.
But she doesn’t get away lightly, as Martina also bemoans Julia’s lack of romance in a new Channel 4 show exploring what it’s really like to have a famous spouse.
Martina Navratilova has been married to Julia Lemigova for two years. They delve into their marriage for Channel 4’s Married to a Celebrity
The couple, who first met 17 years ago, share their most annoying habits and pet peeves with each other
Martina, who has 18 grand slam titles to her name, first came out as gay in 1981 and never thought she would be a wife
In a candid interview for Channel 4’s Married to a Celebrity: The Survival Guide the pair playfully bicker over one another’s annoying habits – offering an amusing insight into their relationship.
‘It annoys me that Martina has pretty blonde hair but she wears her baseball cap way too much,’ Julia complains.
‘She think it’s too butch,’ admits Martina, before explaining that it’s a practical disguise.
‘My hat is for two things; to keep my hair out of my face and to go incognito. People don’t recognise me as much when I have a hat on.’
Pet peeves
Julia, who runs a skincare business called Russie Blanche, disagrees, and counts the hat among her list of bug-bears about her wife of two years.
She reminds Martina that, as part of her wedding vows, she promised to cut down on the amount of time she spends on Twitter.
‘[I promised] Twitter wouldn’t be part of our family,’ the sports commentator confirms.
The couple who have been together since 2006 and Navratilova now has two new roles – wife and mother to Lemigova’s two daughters, Victoria, 16, and Emma , 11, from a previous relationship
However, Martina argues that she’s not simply tweeting her fans, insisting that she gets ‘a lot of emails’ that need responding to, and claiming that ‘clean freak’ Julia is on her phone just as much.
Lack of romance
Julia doesn’t get off Scot-free, as Martina, who came out as gay in 1981, complains about a lack of romance from her spouse: ‘I only get flowers once a year for my birthday.
‘I would like you to be more romantic, take me out to dinner, and surprise me with a nice meal,’ she suggests.
And while Julia admits she could make more of an effort in the romance department, there’s one thing the pair cannot come to an agreement on – Julia’s beloved birds.
Martina famously proposed to Julia during the 2014 US Tennis Open. They were married a year later in a ceremony in New York
Compromise
Martina claims the five cockatoos make for a noisy environment at home because of their squawks, leading Julia to accidentally remind her wife the reason for the animals in the first place.
‘You forgot why I got Jacques. Jacques was a trade off,’ Julia explains of a row over Martina wanting a motorcycle.
‘She said “If I get a motorcycle then you can get whatever you want”. So I said an umbrella cockatoo.’
Martina is delighted to be reminded of the couple’s long-forgotten agreement, telling the cameras she’s going to buy the two-wheel speed machine.
Married to a Celebrity: The Survival Guide airs on Tuesday, Channel 4 at 10.20pm