Boris Becker has admitted he ‘couldn’t stop crying’ during his wedding to his third wife Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, after the couple tied the knot in a ‘unique’ ceremony.
The former tennis player, 56, married the political risk manager, 33, during a three-day affair in Portofino, Italy last week, with the stunning bride walking down the aisle to Coldplay’s hit track Yellow.
Discussing their lavish nuptials for the first time, Boris told Hello! Magazine that it was a ‘magical weekend’ marrying his partner Lilian, and they chose Portofino as their wedding location after spending many happy weekends there together.
He said: ‘Everyone cried, including me… The location where we had the ceremony is, I think, one of the most unique places I have been in my life – and trust me, I have been to a lot of beautiful places!’
The bride stunned in an elegant white strapless gown by her old school pal, designer Andra Ravieli, having previously promised that he would design her wedding gown.
Boris Becker has admitted he ‘couldn’t stop crying’ during his wedding to his third wife Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, after the couple married in a ‘unique’ ceremony
The former tennis player married the political risk manager during a three-day occasion in Portofino last week, with the stunning bride walking down the aisle to Coldplay’s hit Yellow
Boris was joined by his two sons from his first marriage, Noah, 30, and Elias, 25, who acted as joint best men, with Boris saying he was ‘very moved’ by his loved ones’ speeches in an emotional toast following the ceremony.
Guests included former Dutch footballer Ruud Gullit, German actor and model Boris Kodjoe.
Lilian, who is 23 years his junior, has stood by Boris through thick and thin after he was jailed for two and a half years in the UK after he was found to have hidden £2.5million of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case.
But Boris said that he believes his time behind bars has made his relationship stronger, adding: ‘As they say in wedding ceremonies, in good and in bad days, you have to find a way to stick together.
‘We certainly had very difficult days, because my personal situation was very challenging, but that’s really when I got to know my true friends and my partner for life.’
‘Sometimes you need to be tested to find out who your true friends are, or your partner, and it happened for me. And I realised who was with me and who was not with me. Lilian was number one.’
After their evening ceremony, the happy couple took to the floor for their first dance to the Lionel Richie hit All Night Long, before dancing the night away with their guests.
Boris added that married life already feels ‘wonderful,’ and the highlight of his big day was the chance to finally ‘call Lilian his wife.’
Discussing their lavish nuptials for the first time, Boris told Hello! Magazine that it was a ‘magical weekend’ marrying his partner Lilian
But Boris said that he believes his time behind bars has made his relationship stronger, adding: ‘In good and in bad days, you have to find a way to stick together’
The happy couple added that while they are too busy to jet off on honeymoon right away, they are hoping to enjoy a trip away over the Christmas period.
It was reported back in February the couple had become engaged and were planning their wedding for later in the year.
Boris served eight months of the sentence at Wandsworth and Huntercombe prisons before being deported from Britain in December 2022, ruling out a return to his job on the BBC commentating on Wimbledon.
He did, however, contribute to Sky Italia’s coverage of the action from SW19 over the summer. He had lived in the UK since 2012 and was declared bankrupt in 2017 before being imprisoned in April 2022.
London-based Ms Monteiro is a political risk analyst and has three degrees, including a masters in African studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and speaks five languages, including German, according to German newspaper Bild.
She was born in the African island state of São Tomé and Príncipe and is the daughter of Victor Monteiro, the republic’s former Minister of Defence who ran for the presidency in 2014.
Lilian spent much of her youth in Rome where she attended a private school before studying at the University of La Sapienza.
She first came to London to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies, where she earned her master’s degree at the age of 25.
He reportedly proposed to Lilian at Milan’s Cathedral back in 2021 – but any hope of a fairytale wedding was cut short by the impending prison sentence.
She was a constant presence by his side while attending court hearings and even blew him a goodbye kiss when he was jailed last year and blasted by a judge for showing no remorse.
After the prison release the couple who were based in the UK relocated to Milan.
A source told The Sun: ‘Boris is incredibly grateful to Lilian for staying with him through “The hardest time’ of his life”.’
‘He said, “She saved me, and I will never forget her for that. She is the woman of my new life!”‘
Lilian, who is 23 years his junior, has stood by Boris through thick and thin after he was jailed for two and a half years in the UK (pictured in 2022)
Boris has been twice married before. He married Barbara Feltus in 1993 and the couple had two children – a son, Noah, who was born in 1994, and a daughter, Elias, born in 1999.
In December 2000 the couple announced they were separating. A year later, Becker was forced to concede that he was the father of Russian model Angela Ermakova’s daughter Anna following a High Court battle.
In 2002, Boris was convicted for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion in Germany.
Seven years later, he announced he was engaged to Dutch model Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Kerssenberg. She gave birth in 2010 to a son, Amadeus. They announced their separation in 2018.