Around 3 months back, retired tennis legend Martina Navratilova was diagnosed with throat and breast cancers. This prompted her wife Julia Lemigova to take up boxing as a coping mechanism. However, Navratilova’s cancer diagnosis also brought back some of Lemigova’s darkest memories to her. 23 years ago, Lemigova lost Maximilien, her son, who was only four months old at the time. Eventually, a comprehensive investigation revealed that Maximilien’s death was anything but natural.

Wife of Martina Navratilova could not move on from her son’s death

One would think 23 years is a long time to move on from a tragic life event. However, for successful model Julia Lemigova, the death of her son wasn’t easy to swallow at all. Only 8 days prior to the tragic death, Lemigova and her ex-husband Edouard Stern had just hired a Bulgarian nanny to look after Maximilien.

In a heartfelt interview with the Daily Mail, Lemigova said, “Maximilien’s father helped me hire the nanny. I checked her references, and she sounded perfect and looked lovely.” She added, “She moved into my apartment, and exactly eight days later my son was sleeping and I couldn’t wake him up.”

Maximilien’s autopsy revealed that there was “diazepam in his blood.” Coincidentally, Lemigova “went through the nanny’s room and found a broken ampoule of some weird substance”. She handed it over to the police, and on closer investigation, they found it was diazepam. Unfortunately, the Bulgarian nanny disappeared after the police let her go after initial questioning.

Navratilova and Lemigova’s adoption plans stalled owing to tennis legend’s cancer diagnosis

For a long time, Navratilova and Lemigova were contemplating adopting a child. However, now that Navratilova’s recovery from cancer is the priority, the couple’s adoption plans have stalled.

In the interview, Lemigova revealed how tearful she was after hearing about Navratilova’s cancer diagnosis. “I knew my eyes were getting wet, but she didn’t see my tears”. However, Navratilova’s lifelong determination to fight against all odds convinced Lemigova that there was hope. “I never saw Martina going down without a battle and where there’s a battle there is hope for a win.”

Read More: ‘I Literally Forgot to Breathe’ – Minutes After Martina Navratilova’s Cancer Jerk, Wife Julia Lemigova Reveals Heart-Wrenching Emotions

Lemigova also said, “the moment Martina said she had cancer I just felt my son, if he were alive, would not want to see his mother in so much pain every day.”

Thankfully for the couple, Navratilova is in remission right now after months of radiation and chemotherapy. Navratilova’s immense recovery also allowed her to return to commentating at the recently concluded Miami Open.

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