The love story of Boris Becker and Lilian De Carvalho

Published: 25.04.2024. 07:00h

The author:
Style

Novak Djokovic’s former tennis player and coach Boris Becker and his fiancee Lilian De Carvalho looked dapper as they attended the Laureus Sports Awards in Madrid.

The former tennis player is believed to be engaged to his girlfriend, who is 23 years his junior, after a “secret proposal” earlier this year.

And the couple looked loved up as they walked the red carpet hand in hand.

Boris, 56, looked dapper in a black suit with shorter lapels and a black tie. He wore a serious expression as he held hands with Lillian, 33, who showed off her chic sense of style in a timeless black dress.

Lilien, who is a political risk manager from the African island of Sao Tome and Principeshe showed off her incredible figure in a skin-tight dress, which she paired with simple black peep-toe heels.

The pair have been together for several years after moving to Milan together following his release from prison in 2022, where he served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for non-payment of debts.

In February, German newspaper “Bild” reported that the retired tennis player will marry for the third time after revealing that the couple were engaged in a wedding expected within a year.

Speaking about his release from prison, Boris told the German magazine Bunte:Because of her love, I survived. Yes, she is the great love of my life. And I hope to always stay with her.”

Lilian, who has three degrees and speaks five languages, comes from a family of successful people. Her father was the defense minister of Sao Tome and Principe and a presidential candidate in 2014.

Boris and Lilian live in, as “Bunte” writes, a “beautiful apartment” in the “heart” of Milan – just a few years after he went to prison for non-payment of debts.

The former athlete reportedly proposed in Milan Cathedral back in 2021, but any hope of a fairytale wedding has been dashed by his impending prison sentence.

She was constantly by his side as she attended court hearings and even blew him a goodbye kiss when the judge jailed him and sentenced him for showing no remorse.

A source told British newspaper The Sun: “Boris is incredibly grateful to Lilian for sticking with him through the ‘toughest time’ of his life.

He said: “She saved me, and for that I will never forget her. She is the woman of my new life!”

This will be Boris’s third marriage after breaking up with his wife Lily Becker in 2018 after nine years together.

In the meantime, his marriage with his first wife, Barbara, lasted one year less. They married in 1993 and separated in 2001, after the then-tennis player admitted to having an affair while she was pregnant with their second child.

Boris was charged with insolvency in 2022 after declaring bankruptcy and hiding valuable assets 2.5 million pounds.

He hid the money by failing to declare his share of a huge £1 million German property, as well as £700,000 in loan cash among other assets.

Bonus video:

( Style )