Sharapova’s Enduring Romance: Engaged to Alexander Gilkes Since 2020, But Why the Wedding Wait?

Maria Sharapova’s love life has been a blend of high-profile romances and quiet commitments, evolving from early flings with fellow athletes to a stable partnership with British businessman Alexander Gilkes. The five-time Grand Slam champion, now 38, first gained headlines in the early 2000s for her whirlwind on-and-off relationship with fellow tennis prodigy Andy Roddick, which ended amid her rising stardom. She later dated dancer Evan Lysacek from 2008 to 2009, but it was her 2009-2012 engagement to Slovenian basketball star Sasha Vujačić that marked her first serious brush with marital plans—only for it to fizzle out quietly in 2012. From 2012 to 2015, Sharapova shared a passionate but ultimately short-lived romance with Bulgarian tennis heartthrob Grigor Dimitrov, dubbed “the next big thing” in men’s tennis at the time.

Since 2018, however, Sharapova has found a low-key anchor in Gilkes, a charismatic art world entrepreneur (co-founder of Paddle8 auction house and Squared Circles venture studio) who attended Eton with Princes William and Harry. The couple went Instagram-official during a cozy Cotswolds getaway that year, and by December 2020, Gilkes proposed with a stunning 5-7 carat emerald-cut diamond. Their bond deepened with the arrival of son Theodore on July 1, 2022, marking Sharapova’s joyful pivot into motherhood post-retirement. Gilkes, a divorced father from his prior 13-year marriage to fashion designer Misha Nonoo (who’s now wed to oil heir Mike Hess), has been a steadfast supporter—cheering Sharapova at her August 2025 International Tennis Hall of Fame induction and sharing subtle family glimpses while fiercely guarding their privacy.

As for why the couple hasn’t tied the knot five years into their engagement? Sharapova has been candid: life simply got in the way—in the best possible manner. They had envisioned a grand celebration, but her unexpected pregnancy shifted priorities to building their family first. “We were going to have a big wedding and then I got pregnant, and so we haven’t actually scheduled a new wedding yet,” she shared in a 2024 interview, adding they’re “not in a rush” amid her booming business ventures (like Sugarpova candy) and Gilkes’ demanding career. Recent 2025 updates echo this sentiment, with the pair focusing on co-parenting, European summers, and occasional date nights rather than aisle-walking. (A January 2025 rumor of divorce from a fringe site appears debunked by consistent reports of their harmony.) For Sharapova, marriage seems less about a ceremony and more about the “beautiful, challenging, and rewarding” life she’s already crafting with Gilkes and Theodore. Fans speculate a vow renewal could happen soon, perhaps tying into her Hall of Fame glow-up, but for now, their unhurried bliss speaks volumes.