Navratilova proposes to Lemigova at US Open

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova had proposed to longtime girlfriend Julia Lemigova at the US Open on Saturday.

The 57-year-old got down on her knee and proposed to her 42-year-old Russian girlfriend in front of thousands viewers.

“We’ve been together six years and I can’t imagine my life without you. Please marry me,” Navratilova said.

Lemigova said ‘yes’ and they were cheered by thousands spectators at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I was very nervous,” the former world no 1 said adding, “It came off. She said yes.”

“It was kind of an out-of-body experience. You’ve seen people propose at sporting events before, in movies, in real life. Here it was happening to me. It was like I was watching myself do it,” Navratilova said.

The couple is planning to get married “as soon as possible,” in Miami Dade, Florida where gay marriage is allowed.

Navratilova has been with former beauty queen and mother of two Lemigova since 2006.

Navratilova and Lemigova together raising the children and live together.

In one interview with BBC’s Radio 4, Navratilova said,  “I never really got the opportunity to have a child, but I am in a relationship now with my partner and she has two girls, so I am a parent now. Its difficult, two girls, but it’s fun, its amazing.”

Earlier Navratilova was in relationship for seven years with Judy Nelson which ended in bitter lawsuit in 1991. Nelson sued her for $7.5 million and settled with half that amount.

Her second relationship of eight years with Toni Layton ended in 2009 in which she had to pay $3 million to Layton in bitter battle.

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