| Game, set and match:
Norman confirms relationship with Evert 'We enjoy each other's company immensely,' Norman says of the former tennis star.
Evert and Norman at an outside table at Sydney, Australia’s Doyles restaurant. |
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After weeks of deflecting questions about a rumored romance, former world number one golfer Greg Norman has confirmed that he and former seven-years world number one tennis legend Chris Evert are a couple. "We like to be with each other. We enjoy each other's company immensely," Norman told GOLF Magazine this week. "We share a very common bond with a lot of things in life. We are very close individually with each other and, looking forward, I hope that stays the same way."
Norman, 51, and Evert, 52, have been seen together since October at sporting and charity events, but after months of denying their budding romance, the pair went public with their romance for the first time just days before the 2007 New Year, holding hands and dining out in Sydney, Australia’s Doyles restaurant for all to see.
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Wearing matching outfits of jeans, black tops and dark sunglasses, they enjoyed a meal of prawns and lobster at an outside table by the water at Doyles restaurant. The high profile couple savoured the final moments of their stay like a pair of lovestruck teenagers. Snatching kisses while stopped at traffic lights, Norman and Evert left no doubt of their affection for each other. The two held hands for most of the meal. At one point Norman, 51, put his hand protectively on 52-year-old Evert's arm and she rested her hand on his shoulder. After wining and dining, they enjoyed a stroll through the park next to the restaurant. They held hands the whole time. |
One diner at the restaurant said: "They looked very much in love. They seemed very happy and relaxed in each other's company." And after loading a slab of VB beer and a case of Australian wine on board Norman's $90 million Gulfstream G5 private jet, it looked like they planned to toast their romance on the flight home to Florida. |
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Claiming to have been friends for 25 years, the former sports champions have denied rumours of a partnership for much of this year. Evert was granted a divorce in early December from her husband and the father of her three children, former champion skier Andy Mill, who was best friends with Norman. The Queensland-born Norman has been living in Hobe Sound, Florida, and announced his separation from wife Laura back in May, after 25 years of marriage. They have yet to finalize their divorce and are believed to be negotiating over the golfer's estimated $280 million fortune. The Normans have two grown children: a son, Gregory, and a daughter, Morgan Leigh, who is dating golf star Sergio Garcia.
Meanwhile, Evert’s ex, Andy Mill told PEOPLE magazine last week,"These two people have really meant a lot to me for a long time. At this point I just wish them great happiness." But Paul Tejera, a Florida fishing guide and one of Mill's best friends, told PEOPLE that the news of the relationship was a "shock."
Evert was granted custody of their three sons – Alex, 15; Nicky, 12; and Colton, 10 – and kept the couple's $4 million Boca Raton property when the divorce became final in December.
Although details of the Normans divorce are not yet known, Norman is believed to have forked out almost $10 million last month for a five-bedroom home in Boca Raton, Florida, around the corner from Evert, who also lives there.
For their part, Evert and Norman became business partners recently when she
signed on to create tennis academies in his resort developments.