Boris Becker is a 'devil' who 'has abandoned his son', estranged wife claims after shamed tennis star's prison release

19 February 2023, 08:47

Boris Becker has been branded 'a devil' by his wife
Boris Becker has been branded 'a devil' by his wife. Picture: Getty

By Kit Heren

Boris Becker has been labelled a "devil" by his estranged wife, after the tennis star was released from prison.

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Sharley Kerssenberg, 46, claimed the three-time Wimbledon champion had stopped paying child support for their son Amadeus.

Mr Becker, 55, was recently released from prison in the UK for hiding his assets after bankruptcy.

He served seven and a half months behind bars before being let out and deported to his native Germany.

Model Ms Kerssenberg, also known as Lily Becker, said that her husband "can be charming and loving when he wants to".

But she added that he could be "also extremely hurtful with words," branding him "a devil".

Andrew Castle reacts to Boris Becker being jailed

"Prison didn't make Boris a better person. Boris lives in his world in which everything revolves around Boris Becker," she told German outlet Bild.

She added: 'It is not my fault he went to prison. He ruined his reputation all by himself.

"Boris doesn't care whether we're doing well or badly. We used to have an honest love. When I started to emancipate myself in marriage, there were arguments.

"Also because of Boris's lies about his finances."

Becker 'had it all and somehow began to think' he was untouchable

Asked whether she said Mr Becker could be loving, she said: "Boris loves his children and his mother. In the form in which love is possible for him."

She added that he had not called Amadeus after being released until Christmas day, when he spoke to his son for two minutes, and that she did not even know his current address.

Read more: Boris Becker set to be deported to Germany next week after he was jailed for hiding £2.5 million in fraud case

Read more: 'I've hit rock bottom': tearful tennis star Boris Becker opens up about fraud shame in new documentary

Mr Becker was sentenced to 30 months in prison in April last year for hiding £2.5million of assets after being declared bankrupt.

He was released early after serving about a quarter of his sentence.

Boris Becker and Ms Kerssenberg
Boris Becker and Ms Kerssenberg. Picture: Getty
Sharlely Kerssenberg
Sharlely Kerssenberg. Picture: Getty

When he got out, he told German broadcaster Sat1: "I thought I was going to lose my life in Wandsworth [prison].

"Someone, a murderer I later found out, wanted my coat and he wanted money and he said he would kill me if he didn't get it.

"Then in Huntercombe another murderer said he wanted to kill me. My food tray was shaking."