Maria Sharapova is engaged!
Maria just took an ace on the next step in her life and announced on her Instagram on Thursday that she’s engaged to her boyfriend, Alexander Gilkes. The tennis champ, 33, shared several black and white photos on the beach with her love and captioned the snap, “I said yes from the first day we met❤️This was our little secret, wasn’t it 💍🥂@gilkesa.”
Alexander also shared similar photos, but included a solo shot of his future bride standing in front of a FUTURE art exhibit. He gushed over how happy he was to make Maria his forever love in the caption. “Thank you for making me a very very happy boy. I look forward to a lifetime of loving you, and learning from you @mariasharapova #💍.”
Maria and Alexander first went public with their romance in October 2018. Alexander is the founder of Paddle8, an online auction house, that has been extremely successful. The British millionaire is also a close friend of Prince Harry and Prince William and Kate Middleton. Alexander was previously married to Prince Harry’s own matchmaker and pal, fashion designer Misha Nonoo.
Maria has had several past loves, but Alexander has been her constant over the past couple years and supported her as she announced her retirement from professional tennis. Back in February, he shared a photo of Maria in her tennis whites and paid tribute to his love and her incredible career.
“To the kindest and most professional person I know, here is to you Maria, and all that awaits you in your next chapter! May you continue to inspire us all with your deep humility, self-deprecation, strength and focus. As a remarkable first chapter closes with so many extraordinary fetes, we look forward to all that you will accomplish with equal grit in the years to come. Proudly and lovingly,” Gilkes captioned the shot.
Congrats to the happy couple!
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.