IS THE FAIRYTALE OVER?
With isolation pressures mounting, Bec and Lleyton Hewitt’s marriage is under more strain than ever
When tennis star and Home And Away fan Lleyton tied the knot with his leading lady at the Sydney Opera House in 2005, Bec promised to “love you until forever” in a poem she penned to mark the occasion.
Yet close friends reveal that their reportedly rocky marriage is at breaking point as germophobic Bec’s self-professed obsessive compulsive disorder wreaks havoc in their household as they are forced to spend time together in their Melbourne mansion.
With Bec, 36, home-schooling their three children, Mia, 14, Cruz, 11, and Ava, nine, and Lleyton, 39, desperately missing the international tennis circuit, friends say tempers are fraying and raising contentious old issues between the couple.
“It’s a relationship that has certainly had more than its fair share of ups and downs,” says an insider, who insists the couple’s different parenting styles are once again driving a wedge between the duo.
KIDS IN THE MIDDLE
“He and Bec argue a lot about how best to raise their kids. Bec worries a lot about Lleyton turning Cruz into a little mini-me. She doesn’t think turning him into a tennis robot at such an early age is healthy.
“But with the kids cooped up and Lleyton feeling a little like a caged lion because of the restrictions, I know Bec is finding it hard. She’s also wearing herself out, constantly cleaning and disinfecting everything.”
Bec and Lleyton have led increasingly separate lives since returning to Australia from the Bahamas with Bec throwing her energy into Mia and Ava and the showbiz careers she wants for them, while Lleyton focuses on Cruz’s budding tennis career.
“He finds it harder to relate to his daughters, and tends to lavish attention on Cruz. Bec gave up fighting over this years ago, but with everyone at home, they’re clashing once again over their parenting styles.”
Since becoming Davis Cup captain, Lleyton has clashed with Bec over the time and energy he has spent on tennis brats like Bernard Tomic, but now that she has more time than she’s ever had with her husband, their differences have become more apparent.
“He’s a lot more patient than what he used to be, but they really are like chalk and cheese,” confirms the insider, who says the COVID-19 pandemic has placed their relationship under enormous strain because of Bec’s OCD.
The former Home And Away star has spoken candidly in the past about her personal demons, revealing she has been tortured by her condition, which forces her to repeatedly clean her entire house. “I’m definitely obsessive compulsive,” she revealed in 2014. “Any kind of cleaning, bed making. It’s the way I do things. I do that repetition thing. If I’m not sure that I’ve done it, well, I’ll do it again.”
While raising three children helped Bec come to terms with her condition, she’s still terrified of germs and infection, and with her enforced separation from her parents, is finding her life increasingly difficult.
“It’s no secret she was bitterly disappointed when Lleyton wouldn’t agree to have a fourth child,” a family friend says, adding that despite the pressures of home-schooling, Bec is once again flirting with the idea of having another baby.
“She’s a fantastic mum, and she absolutely loves babies. With life in limbo, I know she’d jump at the chance of reliving those baby years all over again. I’m just not sure if Lleyton would be quite as enthusiastic.”
‘They’re clashing once again over what’s best for the kids’