The ‘affair’ that put the final nail in the coffin for marriage of sport’s ultimate power couple: How ex-Man United star Bastian Schweinsteiger romance with married blonde mum led to divorce from ‘love at first sight’ Ana Ivanovic

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic were once arguably the power couple of the sporting world.

A World Cup-winning footballer who donned the iconic jerseys of both Bayern Munich and Manchester United and a former Grand Slam winner who was once the world’s best female tennis player. How could they not be?

But news of the superstar duo’s impending divorce this week less than a decade after they tied the knot left fans shocked.

It was ‘love at first sight’ when Ivanovic and Schweinsteiger met in the wake of Germany’s World Cup triumph in 2014.

They were introduced by a mutual friend, former Basketball player Steffen Hemman, in New York and hit it off almost instantly.

Recalling their first meeting, Schweinsteiger told German publication BILD: ‘I wasn’t that good at English when we met so I listened to Ana a lot in the beginning. I was a bit on the defensive and saw what was coming.

 
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Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic were once arguably the power couple of the sporting world

 
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However last month the former tennis world No 1 filed for divorce after a turbulent year

‘It was love at first sight. You feel special moments and you can recognise them when you look deeply into someone’s eyes – that’s exactly how it was with me.’

Such was the former Red Devil’s infatuation with his new love interest that, only a few months later, he got down on one knee and gave Ivanovic a romantic proposal in a London park.

‘In London there are small parks that are only accessible to local residents and then I secretly rented the park from the film called Notting Hill,’ the 40-year-old said of the proposal. ‘Of course I knew that Ana was extremely curious when we walked past the gate ajar, I said to her, “Come on, we’ll see”.

‘And then we went in there and then I asked her. This came as a complete surprise to her.’

They later married in 2016 and went on to have three children together. Two of their sons are called Luca and Leon, while the name of the third, born just two years ago, is Theo.

Their romance blossomed throughout the latter years of Schweinsteiger’s career at Manchester United and even through his move to the States when he signed for Chicago Fire.

But it was earlier this year that reports of the couple’s split first began to surface.

It’s thought that Ivanovic and Schweinsteiger’s relationship began to become strained due to his absence from the family home with work commitments.

 
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Schweinsteiger proposed to Ivanovic just months after they met in New York back in 2014

 
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The couple share three children together named Luca, Leon and Theo with the youngest born in 2023

 
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However it’s thought their marriage became strained due to the German’s commitments as a pundit

The German is, and has been, in high demand as a pundit and regularly travels across the continent covering matches while his tennis star wife stays at home in Belgrade, Serbia, with the children.

They were last pictured together around a year ago enjoying a trip away at a Christmas market in Vienna, with updates on their family life becoming increasingly scarce thereafter. This prompted reports they had called time on their romance, with a split all but confirmed a few months later in June when Schweinsteiger was shockingly spotted kissing a new woman in Mallorca.

Photos and videos shared by BILD appeared to show the midfielder relaxing on a beach with a married woman, thought to be named Silva, who he was ‘hugging and kissing’.

The mystery woman was reported to be from Bulgaria, where Schweinsteiger resides, and has two sons, who attend the same school as his children.

‘They both looked happy and in love, they didn’t take their hands off each other as they lay on towels on the sand. They were hugging and kissing,’ a source told Bild.

 
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Schweinsteiger was reportedly spotted hugging and kissing a woman named Silva (pictured here, according to Ukrainian reports)

 
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A representative for Ivanovic confirmed the tennis star and her footballer husband had split back in June, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the reason

Though it was yet to be confirmed, at that point Schweinsteiger and Ivanovic had split months earlier. The German had also already vacated the family home and even enjoyed a romantic getaway with his new girlfriend, who he’s reported to have started dating in early 2025.

It was only a short time after Schweinsteiger’s loved-up day out on the idyllic sands of Mallorca that a representative of Ivanovic’s put an end to speculation and confirmed the couple’s split. ‘Irreconcilable differences’, were cited as the reasons for their break up.

Now, the couple have put the wheels of their divorce in motion. Ivanovic officially filed for divorce last month at the Munich District Court.

The former French Open winner has reportedly also filed for child support for the couple’s three children.