Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova and former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova wed last month and are setting up home following their December 15 wedding. The marriage in New York took place after changes in the law that allowed Ms. Navratilova to marry the woman who has been her partner for the past six-and-a-half years.

Both women bring a huge amount of emotional baggage to the relationship with Ms. Navratilova having to fight two former lovers in court after they claimed huge amounts of her fortune. Ms. Lemigova has two daughters from two different failed relationships and suffered the loss of her five-month-old son in suspicious circumstances while in the care of his father. Banker Edouard Stern who fathered the baby also died a few years later during a bondage session with a prostitute.

Ms. Navratilova came out as bisexual 33 years ago when it was still unthinkable to do so, whereas Ms. Lemigova says she didn’t even know what being gay meant until she had reached adulthood. “I grew up in Russia and I didn’t know it existed,” she said.