Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova: All About the Reality Star and Tennis Pro’s Marriage

Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova were a match made in heaven.

The pair made Real Housewives history in 2021 as the first same-sex couple to appear on the franchise. At the time, Julia told NBC News that she was “overwhelm[ed]” with the support she and Martina received after she was cast on the Bravo show.

The tennis legend met her wife in 2000, though they lost contact for nearly a decade, Julia told The Daily Mail.

“I was modeling, living in Paris [when we first met] and meeting all these amazing people — famous people, royals,” she said. “I’m not a tennis fan but, of course, I knew who she was and we just got chatting.”

Martina and Julia crossed paths again at the French Open in 2008. From there, they began forming a friendship that slowly grew into something more over time.

Martina proposed to the former Miss USSR at the 2014 U.S. Open, and they were married later that year on Dec. 15, 2014. Since then, Martina and Julia have shared their relationship on RHOM and welcomed two sons through adoption.

Here’s everything to know about Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova’s relationship, from their early friendship to public proposal.

They met in 2000, but didn’t start dating until 2008

Martina and Julia first met at a bar in 2000. Sparks between them didn’t initially fly, and Julia felt like it was a missed opportunity for them to connect. At the time, Julia was doing a modeling job and told The Daily Mail that she recognized Martina.

Julia revealed on RHOM season 4 that she “gave [Martina] a look across the bar” to let her know she was interested.

“‘You have to come and talk to me,’ ” Julia said of her subliminal message to Martina. “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.”

Martina and Julia crossed paths again eight years later when they reunited at the French Open.

“Exactly eight years later, on the day … déjà vu! During the French Open, I bump into Martina, and I said, ‘How about a breakfast?’ ” Julia said on RHOM. “We had a breakfast the next day, and then the next day, and then the third day. And then she moved in.”

Martina is a mother figure for Julia’s daughters

Julia struggled with the idea of coming out to the world and was worried about revealing that she was dating Martina. She told The Daily Mail that their relationship started as friends and developed into something more.

She added that her daughters, Victoria and Emma, “adored” Martina and loved spending time with her. Eventually, one of Julia’s daughters asked her more about her relationship with Martina after children at her school began saying things.

“She asked, ‘Who is Martina?’ so we had to sit down and talk about it,” Julia said. “I said, ‘Martina is someone I love.’ Her eyes went all wide. I remember saying, ‘I can’t imagine living without her.’ Then we had a conversation about whether they liked Martina being around and I remember my daughter saying, ‘I want her to live with us, too.’ ”

After the conversation, Julia still worried about coming out to the rest of the world. At the end of the day, the reality star chose to come out with the support of her two daughters.

“When I saw my two girls standing up to their friends and saying, ‘Yeah, we have two moms,’ and I saw them, and it’s like, ‘Oh my god. My girls came out faster than me!’ ” she told NBC News. “And then it was like, ‘Boom, boom.’ I never, ever looked back.”

Julia is grateful to her daughters for giving her the final “push” and extra layer of “support” to come out with Martina. “It’s so important for anybody when you have your family, whether it’s your kids or your parents or loved ones — just supporting you and helping you,” she said.

Martina proposed to Julia during the U.S. Open and they got married in 2014

After Julia came out with Martina, her children wanted them to get married. Martina proposed to Julia in one of the most public ways possible at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis competition. Their proposal was broadcast on a big screen at New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Martina told PEOPLE, however, it wasn’t supposed to be executed like that.

“Originally it wasn’t the idea to do it at the U.S. Open, on the Jumbotron and all that, but then it was, ‘Why not? I’ve seen it in movies!’ ” Martina told PEOPLE. “And it all came off, everything worked out perfectly!”

Following their proposal, Martina was grateful for the “outpouring of support” that fans gave her and Julia. The couple then got married on Dec. 15, 2014. Martina told the BBC that it was “about time” she got married.

“I’m 58 years old, I got married for the first time – it’s about time, right?” said Martina. “Growing up as a gay woman you just don’t ever think about that, and then I thought, about 10 years ago, ‘You know, I think within 10 years gay marriage will be legal.’ And here we are, 10 years later, making it legal.”

Julia, for her part, admitted that she was grateful that their relationship brought so much positivity to the LBGTQ+ community.

“I think that seeing couples like us marry is important,” Julia told The Daily Mail. “Marriage is a natural progression — and something that just isn’t questioned with heterosexual couples. I really hope that us marrying in such a public way gives hope to families like ours.”

Brooke Shields was their maid of honor

On Valentine’s Day 2022, Julia shared pictures from her wedding on Instagram including photos with Brooke Shields.

Andy Cohen later asked her about her relationship with Martina and Julia on his show Watch What Happens Live, where it was revealed that Brooke was the maid of honor at the wedding.

Julia and Martina were the first out lesbian couple on Real Housewives

Julia is the first housewife to be in an out lesbian relationship in the franchise’s history. She was proud to carry this honor, and was ecstatic to show the audience more about her relationship with her wife Martina.

“I am thrilled of creating this relationship with my fans, and with people in general, and shine the light on our life, how we live,” Julia told NBC News. “Again, love has no gender — and normalize what should have been normal, that is normal.”

They adopted two children

During Season 5 of RHOM, Julia shared that she wanted to adopt a child with Martina. Sadly, their plans for adoption were halted when the former tennis player was diagnosed with cancer.

“When you’re adopting a child, it has to be about the child. And, right now, it’s everything about Martina, and for her getting healthy. So, we’re putting it on hold,” Julia said during the season 5 reunion.

In June 2023, Martina announced that she was cancer-free, and in August 2024, PEOPLE learned that the couple had welcomed two sons through adoption.

“We are over the moon recognizing the challenges and the rewards for everybody,” Martina shared in a statement.