Through thick and thin, Andy Murray has always had the support of his wife, Kim Sears.
The couple began dating in 2005 when she was 17 and he was 18. Today they are happily married and have four children: Sophia (seven), Edie (five), Teddie (three) and a two-year-old presumably named Lola.
Kim can often be seen in the stands while her partner of 15 years struggles on the pitch, and sometimes she is joined by her children.
As such, she will likely support him again when the former world No. 1, three-time Grand Slam winner, two-time Olympic champion, Davis Cup winner and two-time Wimbledon winner returns to SW19.
Here, Femail explores the love story between the tennis ace and his biggest fan.
After the two met in 2005, Kim became a fixture on the pitch and cheered for Andy. Pictured with Judy Murray during Wimbledon 2008
MEETING AT THE US OPEN IN 2005
Miss Sears, who was born in Sussex and has a degree in English Literature, met Murray at the 2005 US Open. Her father is former player and coach Nigel Sears.
Their meeting took place long before he achieved fame and fortune. She was only 17 at the time and Andy was her first serious boyfriend.
Murray courted her with phone calls and flowers. But she didn’t let their budding romance affect her school performance and passed her exams with a “very good” grade.
The pair managed to keep their relationship a secret – until Murray won his first tournament in California in 2006 and ran through the crowd to kiss his girlfriend.
Kim, who was 18 at the time and still in school, said she asked her mother to call in sick for her, but all the papers had pictures of them.
Andy said of his then girlfriend, ‘I’m lucky. I know she’s not with me because I’m in the spotlight.’
The couple briefly split for six months in 2009, but now they share a multi-million pound villa in Oxshott, Surrey, with their dogs Maggie and Rusty.
In 2013, after dating for eight years, Andy revealed in his book Eventually, Andy Murray: Seventy-Seven: My Road to Wimbledon Glory that he could see himself starting a family with his long-term girlfriend at the time.
He said, “I can see myself starting a family one day.” “It’s something I’m starting to think about because Kim and I have been together for eight years.”
In his book about his life and career so far, the Wimbledon champion gushes about the girlfriend he met at the 2005 US Open.
In the book, he wrote, “You’re in these huge cities and you’re always meeting new people, and it’s easy to turn your head.” But Kim was always there for me.
“She really cares about me and helps me with so many things.” She always has. That’s why we have such a great relationship.”
The Wimbledon winner admitted the experience of caring for their two dogs – border terriers Maggie May and Rusty – would stand them in good stead as he and Miss Sears started a family.
He said, “It’s not the same as having kids — or at least I don’t think it is — but sometimes it feels like it.”
He said they not only share a love of dogs, but also share a passion for travel and are not homesick.
Murray also praised Miss Sears’ ability to assess when he needs company and when he wants to be alone as “fundamental” to their relationship.
He said: “Kim sees all the emotions when I win or lose a game, she can see how I really feel.”
COMMITMENT IN 2014
In 2013, Kim Andy’s date was at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships Winners Ball where they both won the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy
Kim was Andy’s date when he received an OBE from the then Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace in 2013
At the height of his career, Andy would often run to Kim to kiss him in victory. Pictured in 2013 during his Wimbledon run
The couple got engaged in 2014 after dating for nine years and previously denied being engaged on several occasions.
In the past, Murray has notoriously refrained from answering questions about his relationship with Sears, but in early 2014 he was forced to deny he planned to marry her after joking on Twitter about his love life.
When asked when he plans to marry Miss Sears, Murray replied during a Q&A with fans on Twitter in January this year: “We’re getting married just after Wimbledon, it should be a great day.”
But just hours later, Murray was forced to post another tweet, explaining that his words had been delivered with a firm wink after the original message went viral.
He tweeted: “3 things. I don’t smoke weed, I’m not getting married (yet) and I don’t want to kill Rafael Nadal.” [sic]’
At the time of their engagement, Andy and Kim did not share any details of the marriage proposal or their wedding plans.
However, after the engagement was announced, Kim’s stunning ring, which Andy picked out himself, was thought to be worth a whopping £200,000.
At the time, experts said Murray, who owned an estimated fortune of £30million and earned £11.5million in 2014 alone, handpicked a “perfect statement ring” for Miss Sears.
During her engagement in 2015, Kim landed in the hot seat after apparently unleashing an angry tirade on his opponent during his semi-final win at the Australian Open that year.
In one of several heated moments during the clash, Kim appeared to hurl a series of profanities at Czech player Tomas Berdych.
As tensions erupted, the stalwart supporter was caught on camera opening his mouth: “Damn you Czech flash f***” or “Take that you flash f**k”.
After the game, Murray said the seemingly atypical episode was due to “a lot of tension” that had been heated up before the game.
He told reporters, “When there’s a lot of tension around something you (the media) created, what you created, that’s perfectly normal.”
“Everyone was tight throughout the first set. My fitness trainer, physiotherapist, I’m sure it was uncomfortable for Dani.
“Even for Tomas, who very rarely says anything on the pitch, there was tension. Yes, in the heat of the moment you can say things you regret. And yes it is.’
WEDDING IN 2015
The couple tied the knot at Dunblane Cathedral in 2015 in what was dubbed the Scottish Wedding of the Year at the time
The happy couple tied the knot in front of family and friends in 2015 and welcomed their first child a year later
The couple’s wedding was voted Scottish Wedding of the Year as they tied the knot at Dunblane Cathedral.
The new Mr and Mrs Murray were married in the 12th-century cathedral in front of a relatively small group of their family and close friends.
At the end of the ceremony, the bells rang and wedding guests showered the newlyweds with confetti as they exited the 45-minute ceremony at the cathedral in the tennis star’s hometown.
The pair then celebrated with a reception at nearby Cromlix House, the £1.8million luxury country house hotel that Andy owns.
Kim’s stunning dress, rumored to be Jenny Packham’s, had elbow-length sleeves and the bride’s hair was slicked halfway up and halfway back from her face. Kim’s tousled brunette locks were also pinned up with a long lace veil.
On her feet were a pair of silver strappy sandals, presumably Jimmy Choo. The bride had four bridesmaids, all dressed in pink.
The groom’s mother, Judy Murray, arrived just before the ceremony looking radiant in a white knee-length coat and a detailed gold dress. The outfit was completed with a dramatic gold hat by milliner William Chambers.
Reverend Colin Renwick led the service, which lasted 45 minutes. Hundreds of tennis fans had lined the streets that day hoping to see the happy couple on their big day.
Hundreds of media outlets from around the world were also on hand to capture the event, which sparked global interest.
Ahead of his marriage, Murray told BBC Sport: “Actually, I’m not nervous about marriage because we’ve been together for about nine and a half years and we’ve been living together for about six or seven years.”
“So I don’t think there’s going to be much change.” I kind of feel like we’re already married in terms of how we spend our lives together and live together.
“I think I’ll be more nervous about starting a family because that would be more life-changing in a positive way.”
TESTED THROUGH A HIP INJURY
Kim and Andy pictured at the 2019 World Premiere of Andy Murray: Resurfacing in London
The couple’s relationship suffered when Andy admitted to being “selfish” in 2019, but they survived the ordeal. Pictured at Cheltenham 2019
The winning duo, pictured at Cheltenham in 2019, have stayed together through thick and thin
Andy admitted in 2019 that he was “pretty selfish” after sustaining a hip injury that threatened to end his tennis career and put a strain on his marriage.
The 36-year-old said his chronic hip pain left him feeling “down” and hurt his relationship with his wife Kim after he was forced to take a break from exercising.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray admitted he had neglected to think about the feelings of his loved ones during his long break. But he insisted his wife Kim had been “brilliant” throughout the ordeal and encouraged him to return to the sport.
Murray returned to the game after undergoing hip surgery in 2019 and giving birth to their third child, a boy named Teddy, a month earlier.
An Amazon documentary about his comeback released earlier this year showed the impact the injury had on his family life.
Murray said, “I was pretty depressed, that’s for sure.” It was a really tough time for me because it wasn’t so much about the actual injury itself.
“Being injured can be frustrating, but the problem I had was with me every day, sleeping and walking. It wasn’t just that I was hitting a serve and my arm hurt. That woke me up in the night. It was bad.
“I don’t know if the kids noticed because when I’m with them I always try to put on a brave face, but my wife certainly does.” was depressed all the time.”
He added, “She was brilliant and I would probably be pretty selfish if I was thinking about myself and my feelings all the time and not really realizing the impact it was having on everyone around me.”
Murray said that despite words of encouragement from family and friends, he’s found it difficult to keep going.
“I was like, ‘You don’t know what it’s like.’ You don’t know how I feel.”
“I probably didn’t take into account what that was doing to everyone around me.” I see a bit of that in the documentary. Some parts of it are quite difficult for me to watch.
“It had an impact on the team and also on my physiotherapist’s family.” “He’s going to be disappointed and sad every time he goes home because he couldn’t fix my hip because I’m still in pain or because I had a rough day.”
YOUR HAPPY FAMILY
Everyone smiles: The couple (pictured) have four children together: Sophia, seven, Edie, five, Teddie, three, and a two-year-old, believed to be named Lola
Kim with the couple’s youngest daughter, believed to be named Lola, during the Nottingham Open in June
The couple have four children together: Sophia, seven, Edie, five, Teddie, three, and a two-year-old believed to be named Lola.
Their fourth child was born in lockdown in March 2021 and the couple have not revealed the baby’s name or gender.
The Murrays only confirmed their previous pregnancy a week before Kim’s birth, after sparking speculation she was expecting when she arrived at Wimbledon in 2019 wearing a maternity-style polka dot top while supporting her husband in mixed doubles.
In April, he posted a drawing of Edie after the two had a coaching session together, in which she hilariously wrote, “I don’t want to play anymore… you’re standing too close to me.”
Murray captioned the pic with a crying emoji: “My first foray into coaching ended in shame.”
The family went on a family holiday to Marbella in April, where he shared a photo of him lifting Teddie over his head.
Speaking to This Morning’s Alison Hammond in 2021, the tennis star said his greatest achievement was getting all four children to bed on time. He also revealed that his eldest daughter Sophia plays tennis once a week.
On Father’s Day recently, the tennis star got a surprise from his family when he saw his four children and Kim waving at him from the stands as he won the Nottingham Open.
The former world number one defeated Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4 in the final to claim ten straight wins and win the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
During his on-pitch interview after the game, he was apparently unaware that any of his children were present in person, saying: “Hopefully I’ll get home tonight and see my kids for Father’s Day.”
“Hopefully I can get in before bed, give myself a day off tomorrow and look forward to Queens.”
It was then that he heard cheers from the stands and looked up to see his family of support gathered, including his wife Kim, who wore black cat-eye sunglasses, smiled at him and held the couple’s youngest child in her arms.
Genuinely shocked, 36-year-old Murray counted his children and said: “They’re all here.” He admitted he had “no idea” they were coming to watch.
He said, ‘Oh my god, I didn’t know they were here.’ I had no idea they were coming.’
He added: “They came to the finals in Surbiton last week, got there and it started raining, so they had to go home for the kids to go to bed.”
“They missed the end of the game so it’s great they managed to come today. I don’t know how many of them are here – they’re all here – thanks guys.”