After almost 27 years of their separation, renowned American actress Brooke Shields opens up about being married to tennis legend Andre Agassi in the ’90s. The 58YO actress revealed how Andre Agassi had helped her in many aspects of her life, especially separating from her late mother, Teri Shields.

Since childhood, Brooke Shields revealed her life was controlled by her mother. She was a ‘momager’ years before Kris Jenner even coined that word. Her relationship with her mother had been toxic from a business point of view. Every time Brooke Shields tried to get away from it, her mother somehow managed to get her back into her web until Andre Agassi stepped in. So, despite a failed marriage, Brooke Shields revealed that she owes a lot to Agassi.

“Everywhere we went, he had tons of bodyguards” – Andre Agassi’s ex-wife reflects on their past relationship

In a conversation with AARP: The Magazine, on how she “broke up” with her mother as manager with the help of Agassi, she said, “It was a transition that I needed. I wasn’t strong enough to separate from my mother on my own. I kept falling back in.” On the stardom of Agassi in those days, she added, “With Andre, it also felt good to feel smaller than another, because he was so famous and number 1 in the world. Everywhere we went, he had tons of bodyguards. I could sit back because it wasn’t my world. He was the first one out of the car when we arrived at events. It was a real kind of respite.” But after the assault, she badly wanted to get back to performing.

Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields first met during a tennis match in 1993. Then they dated for a few years before finally tying the knot in a dream wedding ceremony at St. John’s Episcopal Chapel in Monterey, California in 1997. But their marriage lasted for only 2 years and they got separated in 1999.

She studied a lot and took her acting classes seriously and then eventually replaced her mom with a real agent. Shields said her mother kept calling it a ‘divorce’ after her decision. “Oh Mom, I’m still your daughter, but if I’m going to do this, I have to do this on my own. I’ll make my own mistakes,” Shields told her mom.

She believes she’ll always be thankful to Andre Agassi for helping her separate from her mother. In 2014, she told ‘People’ that “He gave me my first taste of freedom from my mom.” Later on in their life, both of them understood each other’s trajectory with regard to being famous or infamous at such a young age and chose their own path. In his autobiography, ‘Open’, Andre Agassi has revealed an ’embarrassing’ phone call with Brooke Shields before they eventually got separated. What did he write in it?

“The centrifugal of this f**ked-up tennis life” – Agassi wrote in his book

In his book, Andre Agassi wrote that he tried to reconcile their relationship. He wanted to talk to her, I think we need to be working through these things together. “Oh Andre,’ she says. I wait. ‘Oh Andre,’ she says again. ‘You don’t understand. You just don’t get it. This isn’t about us—this is about you individually and me individually’,” Agassi wrote.

He also expressed regret and offered apologies for how things have turned into their relationship. “I tell her about the whirl, the constant whirl, the centrifugal force of this f**ked-up tennis life. I tell her that I haven’t known who I am for the longest time, maybe ever,” Agassi.

Agassi spoke about how he didn’t want to lose her and hoped she’d give her a “second chance.” But according to him, Brooke Shield told him that while she was ‘sorry‘ for his sufferings in the past, she couldn’t fix them all. But he needed to take responsibility for that himself.

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