The tennis ace says his wife Kim Sears has sacrificed her privacy for their relationship. Andy Murray has revealed that his wife cannot stand all the attention she gets just because she is married to him.
Former World No. 1 tennis player said Kim Sears sees it as a “sacrifice” that she has to appear in newspapers and have people comment on what she wears.
Speaking of his artist wife, the Scot said that it was “not something she courts” even though she swore at one of his opponents and later wore a T-shirt at a match emblazoned with the words “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics”.
Murray, 33, also revealed that one of the keys to their relationship has been to spend time apart – even if it is for three weeks at a time.
The three-time grand slam winner is not known to be forthcoming in interviews and rarely speaks about Ms Sears, an artist who is 32.
But he opened up to the New York Times in a conversation which was focused entirely on how he juggles his relationship with his career.
On one point Murray was resolute; Ms Sears finds it frustrating when the focus is on her, not least during Wimbledon when she was on as many front pages as he was.
He said: “I know she doesn’t like that and doesn’t want that. We’ve never asked for that. It’s not something that she courts.
Andy Murray kisses his wife Kim Sears after winning Wimbledon championship
“She doesn’t like being in the newspapers, and people commenting on what she’s wearing and how she looks, and those sorts of things.
“That’s one of the things that I guess she’s also sacrificed, a little bit, for our relationship, and I appreciate that a lot.
“But hopefully there’s only a few more years left of it, and then we can get away from all of that stuff.”
Ms Sears has however been a regular at court side during her husband’s career and has been a very public supporter on some occasions.
She travels around the world to see him play and during one of Murray’s semi final against Czech Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open she was caught apparently saying: ‘F****** have it, you flashy Czech f***!’
In that very final, which her husband lost to Novak Djokovic, she poked fun at the ensuing row by wearing a t-shirt with the slogan: “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics”.
Murray offered an apology of sorts for her behaviour and said that watching from the sidelines is “not easy”.
Andy Murray and Kim Sears grand style wedding
He said: “You want so much for the person you’re supporting to win, but then there’s a bunch of other people around, and it’s uncomfortable…
“…Things are said and people behave in ways that they don’t mean to when there’s emotions involved.”
The couple married in Murray’s home town of Dunblane after dating for more than eight years.
Andy Murray and wife Kim Sears wedding photo: Andy Murray and Kim Sears after their wedding
Even the wedding did not escape the attention of the public and her dress sparked a debate that it was too old-fashioned.
Murray told the US newspaper that he was “lucky” to have met his wife because her dad was a tennis coach which meant she understood the game.
They have also grown used to being apart – and say they love each other more for it.
He said: “I’ve found that actually spending a bit of time apart isn’t actually a bad thing.
“If you spend two or three weeks apart, and then you do get to see each other, you appreciate it more.
“You spend six months with each other, then every single day you start arguing about little things, whatever.
‘When we spend a bit more time apart, the time that we do spend together, we actually appreciate it more. We don’t have to travel with each other every single week to make it work.”
The tennis star praised his partner for having a “very good sense of humour” and for being “very protective, very loyal”, but cheekily added: “She has a bit of a temper on her as well, too”.
