When Lilly Becker and Boris Becker’s relationship ended in 2018, the world watched as the Dutch revealed a universal truth: “When you fall in love, you think it’s forever. This time it didn’t work,” she confessed, her words echoing the heartbreak of a nine-year bond. Now, eight years later, Lilly has accused the retired tennis legend of failing to provide for their 16-year-old son, Amadeus, turning a private struggle into a public storm.

Becker and Lilly married in 2009 and welcomed their son Amadeus in 2010. Their family life seemed stable until they confirmed their split in 2018. Following their separation, UK family courts ordered Becker to pay Lilly £8,000 ($10,000) a month in child maintenance.

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

“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,” Lilly told the Daily Mail, describing the financial pressures she has faced.

Lilly and Amadeus moved from Wimbledon to Germany last year. 

She claims her boyfriend, sports agent Thorsten Weck, who lives in Düsseldorf, has had to step in to help cover the teenager’s expenses. “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,” she added. Since his release from prison in December 2022, Becker married Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, who is 22 years his junior, and the couple recently welcomed their daughter, Zoe.

“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?” Lilly questioned, expressing her frustration at Becker’s priorities.

Regarding their move to Germany, Lilly explained that she thought it might encourage Becker to see Amadeus more often. However, she says the six-time Major winner “never” speaks to Amadeus in German and instead expects the teenager to fly to Italy to visit him.

Lilly also said that Becker initially kept up with the £8,000-a-month payments, even when his financial struggles were apparent. The money stopped when he went to prison in April 2022, but Lilly said she was very understanding at the time.

“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,” she explained.

While she expresses doubts over the tennis icon, she has also accused him of financial discrepancies in connection with the case, highlighting ongoing tensions and unresolved issues between them.

Lilly claims Becker seeks to reduce child support for their son

The German courts became involved last year when Lilly applied to have the existing British court order over maintenance payments enforced in Germany. She assumed it would be a simple technicality.

However, she was shocked when her ex-husband fought it. After the UK maintenance order had been declared enforceable in Germany, Becker filed a complaint against this German declaration of enforceability.

Ultimately, he lost the case. “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,” Lilly said.

Now, Becker has applied to the court to have the maintenance order modified for the future. He wants to reduce the payments from £8,000 to only €1176 ($1385), the equivalent of about £1,000.

The legal situation remains complex. Successive court orders in the UK had given Becker more time to comply with the original order, yet he continues to fight it. Lilly has been particularly frustrated by the spiraling court costs. She noted that Becker put down a €26000 ($30,625) security deposit as part of his appeal.

“And he’s still lost – that money is now tied up and can ultimately be paid out either to him or to me. That 26k could have been used to meet the maintenance order,” she explained.

She reflected on Becker’s approach, saying, “When we were together, it was always Boris’s way. Now, I think he just wants to win. It’s as if we are at Wimbledon, going into the fifth set, and when is it going to end? That’s the mentality I’m dealing with here.”

Lilly has also been incensed by a recent podcast interview Becker gave to Louis Theroux, where he suggested that both Lilly and his first wife, Barbara Feltus, had only married him for his money and fame.

She responded directly, saying, “Have your own narrative. Write your own story. Fine. But to say this out loud? Disgusting! Maybe you’re still hurting from something. I don’t know. To suggest we were after his money. Well, it’s ridiculous. I loved that man.” 

As the dispute continues to unfold, the situation remains in the spotlight, leaving many wondering what will happen next.