Former American tennis star Chris Evert has had an amazing tennis career. Over the years, she built an amazing rivalry with Martina Navratilova. While the two gave some intense tennis matches, both ended up with 18 Grand Slam titles each. Contrary to her successful tennis career, Evert had a rather difficult personal life.

Evert married thrice and each of her marriages ended, leaving the 67-year-old single currently. She first married former British tennis star, John Lloyd. The two were together for eight years before parting ways. Meanwhile, Evert also bonded well with Lloyd’s family. However, his mother was intimidated by her earlier.

Chris Evert intimidated John Lloyd’s mother

Speaking in a recent podcast, John Lloyd revealed the relationship Chris Evert had with his parents. While his father was a tennis fan and bonded well with Evert, it was different for Lloyd’s mother.

Answering the question about his mother liking Evert, Lloyd replied, “She did, but it took a while only because she was intimidated. My mother was kind of very weary, but she was always weary about anybody I went out with.” 

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He further added, “Chris was great with her, Chris was very affectionate with her and she certainly won her over after a while. But getting ladies past my mother was not easy. I tried to avoid it as much as I could.”

‘Don’t Have a Lot of Respect for Her as a Woman’: Greg Norman’s First Wife Once Had Some Harsh Words for Tennis Legend Chris Evert

Evert and Lloyd separated in 1987. Later, Evert married former alpine ski racer Andy Mill in 1988.

Why Lloyd’s marriage with Evert didn’t last?

Both Lloyd and Evert were tennis players and understood each other’s life pretty well. However, the drastic difference between the success the two achieved was one of the main reasons behind their separation. While Evert was a regular Grand Slam winner, Lloyd could not match her prowess professionally.

The Briton admitted that after marriage to Evert, he went into a world that was way out of his league. Lloyd also revealed that at times, people used to call him Mr Evert.

Read More: Greg Norman Celebrates His Latest Victory With a Lot of Pride

While it is understandable that the two had a drastic difference in what they achieved, we have seen other such examples, like Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, where things worked out well even when Graff was a greater player. What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments.