The Real Housewives of Miami star Julia Lemigova and former tennis player Martina Navratilova have become parents. Us Weekly can confirm that the couple adopted two young boys.
“We are over the moon, recognizing the challenges and the rewards for everybody,” Navratilova, 67, shared in a statement to Us on Wednesday, August 14.
This will be Navratilova’s first foray into parenthood. Lemigova, 52, has two daughters, Victoria and Emma, from previous relationships. Her late son, Maximilian, died from shaken baby syndrome at 5 months old while in the care of a nanny.
Lemigova spoke about the loss of her son during a season 6 episode of RHOM, explaining that she turned away from religion following his death.
“I went to church, but I still didn’t get any answers,” the reality star said. “In my case, it gave me more grief and pain. I just cannot walk into a church that easily.”
Navratilova and Lemigova got married in December 2014 after several years together. Prior to expanding their family by adopting their two boys, Navratilova and Lemigova’s parenting journey was showcased during RHOM. During the show’s fifth season in 2022, Lemigova shared her desire to adopt. However, during the RHOM season 5 reunion, she said their plans had been put on hold due to Navratilova’s health.
Navratilova was diagnosed with stage 1 throat cancer and breast cancer in January 2023.
“When you’re adopting a child, it has to be about the child. Right now, it’s everything about Martina, and for her [to be] getting healthy,” Lemigova explained. “We’re putting it on hold. You know, we were thinking [that at] any moment, the agency would call and give us happy news that we’re going to have a baby. … Instead, we are fighting two cancers.”
By March 2023, the retired athlete revealed that she was cancer-free. Earlier this year, Lemigova offered an update on her and Navratilova’s family planning.
“We’re definitely at our high. Martina is healthy,” she told Bravo in February. “We’re renewing our plans for the adoption and maybe we’ll get a happy call anytime. … [I’m] just living life at [the] fullest and I don’t think of tomorrow, I think of only today.”
Navratilova and Lemigova became the first same-sex couple in Housewives history when they debuted on RHOM in season 4, which premiered in December 2021.
“The thing about reality TV is that you cannot fake it,” Lemigova told Page Six in February 2022 of showcasing her romance on TV. “I worked with the camera for years when I was a model, and you cannot lie to the camera because it’s going to catch you in your act and bite you in the ass.”
