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Meet Real Housewives of Miami’s Julia Lemigova, who just adopted 2 boys with her wife, ex-tennis queen Martina Navratilova – here’s what we know about the reality TV star and former Miss USSR

Who is Real Housewives of Miami’s Julia Lemigova, who’s adopted two sons with Martina Navratilova? Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram
Who is Real Housewives of Miami’s Julia Lemigova, who’s adopted two sons with Martina Navratilova? Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram

  • Julia Lemigova was a former USSR beauty queen and met the ex-tennis world No 1 Navratilova in 2000, but they did not start dating until years later; the couple got engaged in 2014
  • Lemigova also has 2 daughters with other ex-partners, and a son – who tragically died – with French banker Édouard Stern; Stern himself died in 2005

Former tennis world No 1 Martina Navratilova and her wife Julia Lemigova have adopted two young boys, agent Mary Greenham told the PA news agency.

Navratilova said: “We are over the moon, recognising the challenges and the rewards for everybody.”

Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova in May. Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram
Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova in May. Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram
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The Real Housewives of Miami star Lemigova revealed during the show’s fifth season in 2022 that the pair had plans for adoption early on. However, Navratilova’s breast and throat cancer diagnosis quickly put those plans on hold.

“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,” she said on the show. In 2023, Navratilova was declared cancer free.

Here’s everything we know about Julia Lemigova, the former model who has stood by her wife through a cancer battle and is welcoming two new kids into the family.

Julia Lemigova is a former model

Julia Lemigova was crowned Miss USSR in 1990; she was initially first runner-up, but the original winner was disqualified. Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram
Julia Lemigova was crowned Miss USSR in 1990; she was initially first runner-up, but the original winner was disqualified. Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram

Before Lemigova was known for appearing on Real Housewives of Miami with Navratilova as the first same-sex couple on the show, she was a model and beauty pageant title-holder. The Russian beauty was crowned Miss USSR 1990.

How did Julia Lemigova meet her wife, Martina Navratilova?

Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova originally met in 2000. Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram
Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova originally met in 2000. Photo: @julialemigova/Instagram

Lemigova, 52, told British media in 2015 that she’d met her then future wife, Navratilova, 67, in 2000, but they lost contact for several years before crossing paths again in 2008.