When André Agassi and Brooke Shields first started dating in the 1990s, their union appeared to be the ultimate power couple, but a storm was brewing behind closed doors.
Tennis icon Andre Agassi’s whirlwind romance with Hollywood actress Brooke Shields appeared to be a match made in celebrity heaven when they married in 1997. Yet beneath the sparkle and fame, a troubling storm was brewing – one driven by Agassi’s hidden struggle with crystal meth, which ultimately destroyed their marriage.
Their relationship began in the mid-1990s, when Agassi was at the peak of his tennis career and Shields was a celebrated actress known for movies like The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. Shields has looked back on the early stages fondly, admitting it felt “good to feel smaller than another” because Agassi was “so famous and number one in the world.”
But issues quickly appeared. Agassi’s performance drastically decreased; he placed him at 141st in the world rankings as a result of his losing his tennis passion. His private life also went into disarray. Agassi made a desperate effort to numb his unhappiness the year they wed, turning to crystal meth.
In a shocking admission in his 2009 autobiography, Agassi exposed the depth of his struggle, stating, “I’d taken drugs for the first time in my life.” a 27-year-old man. ranked 141 globally. And in a union I shouldn’t be.
“Why not, that’s what I had to say? ” I can’t imagine feeling worse. Initial feelings of sadness followed by the energy and chemically induced reconnection to life.
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What started out as experimentation turned into a dangerous dependency. Agassi remarked, “I did it way too many times. I wouldn’t be able to calculate anything… I did it a significant amount of time in 1997.
Shields’ reaction to the confession was off-putting. He explained to me that for the first eight months of our relationship, he had been addicted to crystal meth, according to her 2014 memoir, There Was a Little Girl.
They were emotionally tense because of their addiction. Agassi informed Shields that he had no intention of working with her and that she had even turned down her personal support, leading to her realization that their marriage was in trouble.
When he lost, “He alienated me, and afterward he moved on to the next tournament.” She recalled that we were “distance-freezing.” Why would it have been any different if I had given him complete support? I would have been his main supporter and advocate.
Their conflicting schedules made things worse: Shields was filming Suddenly Susan while Agassi was visiting the world for tournaments, Shields was doing it. We only saw a small fraction of each other over the course of our two years, she said.
Agassi’s issues increased as a result of his ATP Tour drug test failure. He lied to authorities in a letter, accusing them of having ingested drugs accidentally. He admitted, “I wrote a letter filled with lies because I was ashamed. He surprisingly avoided being suspended, which he described as a “second chance,” which he vowed to honor every day.
However, their marriage strained even further by the secrecy. Agassi shared his hair loss and reliance on hairpieces, and shields stood by him in other situations. Shields felt unsupported and alone because Et Agassi refused to offer couples counseling.
By 1999, the fairytale had ended. After just two years, they divorced. Following the split, both moved forward – Agassi staged a remarkable comeback, winning five additional Grand Slams between 1999 and 2004, and married fellow tennis pro Steffi Graf, with whom he has two children – while Shields married producer Chris Henchy, the father of her two daughters.
Shields has since reflected on the negative aspects, lovingly praising Agassi for helping her break up with her overbearing mother. I’ve never connected with him, she admitted in her documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.
Source: Mirror
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