Martina Navratilova's 53-year-old wife Julia Lemigova opens up about raising their 2 adopted boys with American icon & 'rediscovering' herself

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova's wife, Julia Lemigova, is taking a step back to the college classroom to study a dream of hers that she thought she had left behind. Lemigova has taken a bold step to study opera at the age of 53.

In a recent feature in Boca Magazine, Lemigova opens up about raising two adopted sons with Navratilova, while studying opera. She said:

"Your passion doesn’t have an expiration date. I’m in my fifties, studying opera, running a farm, raising two boys with my wife Martina, filming “Housewives,” and I’ve never felt more alive. It’s never too late to begin again, to rediscover who you are."

Lemigova has enrolled at Florida International University (FIU) in a five-year Bachelor’s/Master’s programme in classical voice and opera. While describing her move back to the classroom, she finds the experience "humbling," saying:

"It felt incredibly empowering to go back to school at my age. Music has always been a huge passion of mine. Walking into a classroom again was emotional. It’s humbling because I’m starting from scratch, but also liberating. This time, I’m studying purely for the love of it."

Martina Navratilova's wife Julia reveals feelings about singing opera

In the same feature of Boca Magazine, Julia Lemigova was asked what singing opera means to her. Lemigova highlighted her relationship with opera, working as a therapy for her.

"Singing gives me freedom," Lemigova said. "It’s therapy for my soul. Some people go to the gym for stress relief, I sing opera! When I sing, I can release emotions I don’t always have words for. It’s powerful, vulnerable, and deeply healing all at once. In those moments, I’m completely present."

Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova met in 2000. Back then, Lemigova was a model whom Navratilova approached first, but nothing came out of it. They reconnected eight years later at the 2008 French Open. Lemigova hosted Navratilova for breakfast and the duo started dating.

The couple got engaged after Navratilova went down on one knee during the 2014 U.S. Open to propose to Julia Lemigova. In December that year, the duo tied the knot in New York City.

Before their marriage, Julia Lemigova was already a mother to two daughters, Victoria and Emma. Last year in August, the couple announced that they had adopted two young boys.

Edited by Krutik Jain