Image: (c) imago images / Sven Simon (SVEN SIMON, via www.imago-images.de)
Part of the nature of gossip is that it is mostly about the sudden or catastrophic. Most recently it hit Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Elon Musk and Grimes or Bill and Melinda Gates. But while so many celebrities fall in love and lose, the real stars are those who manage to keep their happiness for many years. The best example: tennis legends Steffi Graf (52) and Andre Agassi (51), who were married for 20 years on Friday (October 22nd).
According to the American, the beginning of the quiet dream couple Graf / Agassi was marked by an interview with Graf on French television, in which the formerly lion-maned tennis bad boy was absolutely “entranced by her natural beauty”. That's what Agassi wrote about the rather reserved 22-time German Grand Slam winner in his autobiography. The two became a couple, but initially they kept their liaison a secret. When it did become known, doubters prophesied an abrupt end.
But Graf / Agassi gave the lie to all skeptics. They kept their love, also by staying among themselves after the end of their careers and also largely shielding their children, Jaden Gil (19) and Jaz Elle (18), from the glamor life. The protection of your privacy had always worked better at Graf than, for example, with tennis colleague Boris Becker, whose divorces and antics gave the boulevard fodder for countless and unflattering front pages.
Since their wedding in 2001 – also in camera – Graf and Agassi have lived mostly in Las Vegas, Agassi's hometown. In the casino metropolis they lead a seemingly down-to-earth life with dogs and ice hockey games – at least that's what Agassi's few posts on social media suggest, in which he still affectionately calls his wife “bride” or simply “Stef”.
Graf himself spoke in the rare double interview with the Australian broadcaster “Nine” of a “very different life” than that of a tennis superstar on the center court: “It felt really good to let go of it. I think it was was a great time in my life and I felt like I gave everything I had in my sport and I was really ready for the next stage in my life. ” There were also rumors from time to time about marital crises and difficult times. But if they were true, the couple didn't even think of wearing it out.
Graf and Agassi are of course not the only ones who have kept their marriage in the midst of regular bad news from other stars. Footballer David Beckham and his wife Victoria have long passed their 20-year marriage. Actors Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks can look back on more than 30 years of marriage. And Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne is already approaching 40 with Sharon Osbourne.
Agassi told the “Bild” newspaper two years ago that he admired his wife for the fact that “the relationship was getting deeper and deeper”. However, he did not have a real secret for a happy marriage, but spoke of mutual respect, discipline and commitment. “I just hope she won't leave me!” Joked Agassi. “I wish every year that she stays with me and that she stays with me for the next 20 years.”
