Boris Becker splits from wife after declaring bankruptcy

BORIS BECKER has split from his wife of nine years just months after declaring bankruptcy.

The German former tennis star, 50, and Dutch model Lilly, 41, took what “wasn’t an easy decision”, their lawyer said, having this year revealed the strain his financial problems were having on their marriage.

The German news agency DPA reported yesterday that a Berlin lawyer for the two confirmed the break-up.

Christian-oliver Moser said: “The decision after a 13-year-long relationship and nine years of marriage wasn’t an easy one.” He said the couple’s main concern now was the well-being of Amadeus, their son, and that the separation was “amicable”.

In recent years, three-times Wimbledon champion Becker mainly made headlines with stories about his financial problems.

Earlier this year, Mrs Becker told the Daily Mail that the pair had been going to counselling in an attempt to save their marriage, a year after the sports star was declared bankrupt.

“I’ve had a rough year. At first, I let go completely – in every way. Too much drinking, too much smoking, too much going out and not caring. I thought, ‘My life sucks and I’m going to die’,” she said. “We did couples’ therapy. It was something we never thought we would have to do. It helped. We did an hour a day for five days a week. It was nice to have the input from someone on the outside who doesn’t know you and isn’t biased.”

Becker married actress Barbara Feltus in 1993 and they had two sons, Noah in 1994 and Elias in 1999, before divorcing in 2001.