Enrique Iglesias is the king of Latin pop music, who worthily continued the work of his father Julio Iglesias. In the videos, the singer is always surrounded by ideal beauties, and at performances thousands of fans dream of his attention. However, Enrique demonstrates a rare consistency in love, and for more than 17 years one beloved woman has remained with him - the former tennis player Anna Kournikova.
Way to success
The life path of Enrique Miguel Iglesias began on May 8, 1975 in Madrid. He became the third joint child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipino-born journalist Isabel Preisler. This union also gave birth to his older sister and brother - Maria Isabel and Julio José. The parents of the future star divorced when their youngest son was only 3 years old. The children stayed with their mother in Spain. However, in 1985, due to threats from Basque terrorists, Isabel Preisler sent her heirs to Miami to their father.
Enrique studied at a prestigious private school, and then, at the insistence of his father, entered the local university at the faculty of business. However, his main hobby since childhood was music. Iglesias secretly wrote poetry, and as an adult, he made several demos of his songs and sent them to music studios under the pseudonym Enrique Martinez. Having signed a contract with a small Mexican label, the aspiring singer dropped out of university and plunged headlong into creativity. Upon learning the truth, his father flew into a rage. As Enrique recalled, Julio Iglesias was used to controlling everything, so he could not survive that his son sees his life path differently and is ready to achieve fame on his own.
Fortunately, the success of the debut single and album finally convinced the young singer of the correctness of his chosen profession. The first disc even earned Enrique a Grammy for Best Latin Album. Since then, Iglesias has released 9 more albums, selling over 170 million copies in total. His compositions have climbed to the first line of the Billboard charts 150 times in various countries.
Of course, with the growing popularity of the young, attractive and talented singer, a line of fans lined up. But Iglesias, in this case, acted in his own way. Unlike his loving father and paternal grandfather, who more than once married and gave birth to many children, Enrique approached the creation of a family thoroughly.
At the beginning of his career, only one of his high-profile romances is known - with actress Jennifer Love Hewitt. They met in the summer of 2000 at the Teen Choice Award ceremony. The couple was together for about a year and after parting managed to maintain friendly relations. Jennifer even agreed to star in Iglesias' video for the song Hero when they were no longer together.
Tennis star
In November 2001, Enrique released his third studio album, Escape. It was decided to shoot a video for the song of the same name, and Anna Kournikova, a tennis player with Russian roots, was invited to play the role of the singer's on-screen girlfriend. The charming blonde was born in Moscow on June 7, 1981. In the USSR, she started playing tennis, and at the age of 10 she moved to Florida to study at the famous tennis academy of Nick Bollettieri.
Kournikova achieved her first victories in competitions among juniors, winning the World and European Championships in 1996. At the age of 15, Anna made her debut at the Grand Slam tournaments. Her career flourished in 1998-2000. True, the tennis player was never able to win any title in singles, but in doubles with Martina Hingis, they several times became the winners of the Australian Open and the annual WTA final tournament. At the peak of her career, Kournikova ranked 8th in the ranking of the strongest tennis players in the world.
Unfortunately, Anna left the sport early. Her further success was hampered by numerous injuries, including herniated discs and the consequences of a broken leg. In the prime of her career, the blonde beauty Kournikova was a popular media personality. Glossy magazines wrote about her, advertisers vied with each other to offer contracts, and the girl's name in 2001 was recognized as one of the most frequent queries in the Google search engine.
It is not surprising that it was Kournikova who wanted to see Iglesias in his video. Based on the plot of the music video, a romantic scene with a kiss was invented for the main characters. The real love story of the singer and tennis player began with her. Unfortunately, over the years of their life together, Anna and Enrique have created for themselves the image of one of the most private couples in show business. At the very beginning of the relationship, they occasionally appeared together in public, but over time they stopped this practice as well. In addition, lovers avoid questions about their marital status. The press has reported several times about the secret wedding of celebrities, but they remain silent or laugh off questions about marriage, although Anna has repeatedly appeared in public with a ring inlaid with an impressive diamond.
Trying to preserve the privacy of their personal lives, Kournikova and Iglesias settled in a luxurious estate in Miami Beach, located on the territory of a private coastal village. The two-star house has a tennis court, a huge swimming pool and a private dock, from where lovers regularly go on boat trips. Random pictures of stars taken by the paparazzi for many years served as the main proof that the couple are still together. And Julio Iglesias by 2014 never met his son's longtime girlfriend. But in absentia, he approved the choice of Enrique, calling his life partner "delightful."
Long-awaited addition
The singer was often asked about the birth of children, and Enrique did not hide that he dreamed of heirs. She and Anna adore dogs, so for a long time the four-legged pets remained the main object of love and care for the couple. Only at the end of 2017, journalists reported the good news that Iglesias and Kournikova became parents. They had twins - a son, Nicholas and a daughter, Lucy.
Moreover, the happy mother managed to hide her pregnancy from prying eyes for all 9 months. In the early stages, she posed for Instagram posts in loose clothes, and then did not post her full-length pictures. Only a few months after the birth of children, Anna showed her photo with an impressive belly, refuting rumors that the couple had used the services of a surrogate mother.
The good news Kournikova and Iglesias were officially confirmed a month after the birth of the babies - on January 16, 2018. They simultaneously uploaded a photo to Instagram, where each of the parents posed with one of the twins. Since then, the children of Enrique and Anna have become regular heroes of their parents' accounts. The famous singer shows fans how he entertains Lucy and Nicholas, plays with them and makes them laugh. And when the teams of Russia and Spain met during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the parents alternately dressed up the children in the sports uniforms of both countries, showing that everyone in their family is rooting for everyone equally. In an interview, Iglesias says that his life partner is an amazing mother, and having children has the best impact on their family relationships.
