Boris Becker’s ex-wife asks ‘aren’t you ashamed’ in scathing attack over finances | Tennis | Sport

Boris Becker’s second wife, Lilly Becker, has accused the retired tennis legend of failing to pay money to cover “the basics” for their 16-year-old son, Amadeus. Becker and Lilly married in 2009 and welcomed their son in 2010. But they confirmed their split in 2018, and family courts in the UK ordered Becker to pay Lilly £8,000 a month in child maintenance.

Now, more than three years after Becker was released from prison in the UK, having previously been found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act, in relation to his bankruptcy, his ex-wife says he is behind on these payments and has been trying to fight them.

Lilly and Amadeus, who is now taller than his own father after another growth spurt, moved from Wimbledon to Germany last year. The decision was mostly financially motivated, but Lilly’s partner lives in Dusseldorf, and she hoped her son would learn German. Now, she claims her boyfriend has had to step in and help pay for the teenager.

“He’s a different size every six weeks. Thank God he doesn’t want designer gear; he’s not into logos. Amadeus is a British boy through and through but the cost of living in England on a single income was too much for me,” Becker’s ex-wife told the Daily Mail.

“Let me tell you something about Boris. The last time I said to him, ‘He could do with some clothes’, he bought Amadeus a designer hoodie and took him and his school friend to a five-star resort in Dubai.

“It shows how out of touch he is that he’ll make these grand gestures, but he won’t pay the money a court has ordered him to pay to cover the basics. Since he got out of prison, he’s had time to make a new baby, go on expensive holidays, post all happy family stuff on Instagram. What about the teenager he already has? My boyfriend has helped me out with those basics before, and it’s not even his duty. Aren’t you ashamed by that, Boris?”

As for their move to Germany, Lilly explained she thought this would help Becker see their son more often. But she explained that the six-time Major winner “never” speaks to Amadeus in German, and wants the teenager to fly to Italy to see him.

Lilly also says that Becker initially kept up with the £8,000-a-month payments, even when his financial struggles became clear. The money stopped coming when he went to prison in April 2022, but the Dutch model was “very understanding”.

She added: “I didn’t make a fuss about it. I knew it was a difficult situation. I thought, ‘We will work this out, in time’. I thought, ‘He will make this right when he gets out’.” Now, Lilly has claimed Becker has fallen behind and owes her six figures.

He has, however, continued to pay school fees and contributed a five-figure amount last year. Meanwhile, Becker’s lawyer told the Mail: “The decision in England was only intended to secure claims temporarily for a maximum of 12 months. The alleged payment claims do not exist.”

When Lilly and Amadeus moved to Germany, she applied to have the British court order relating to the maintenance payments enforced in Germany and says Becker tried to fight it. “I was flabbergasted. He wasn’t being asked for anything extra. Our position is that this was simply the sum that had been agreed in 2018,” she said. Now, she claims Becker is trying to have the order changed so he only needs to pay £1,000 a month.

Since leaving prison in December 2022, Becker has married Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, and they recently welcomed a baby, Zoe. Amadeus has already met his half-sister, and Lilly hopes they can all move on with their lives while maintaining a good relationship.

“I want to be happy for him, to see him with his new family, his new life, and say, ‘That’s my ex-husband, the father of my child’, and to be proud of him. But he won’t allow me that because he puts me in defence fighting mode,” she said. “All I want is for this to end. For Amadeus to have a father who shows up – not for the holidays and the five-star hotels, but for the ordinary, unglamorous, non-negotiable business of being his father.”

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page