‘We spent the night, but he slept on the couch’: Dancer Caroline Rocher Barnes who dated Boris Becker for three years after meeting on a New York dancefloor says ‘he was really a gentleman’ in new documentary
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A dancer who spent three years in a relationship with Boris Becker has said the former tennis ace was ‘really a gentleman’ in a new ITV documentary charting his rise and fall.
Caroline Rocher Barnes met the three-time Wimbledon champion on a dancefloor in New York in 2002, where there ‘was definitely a spark’.
Speaking in the second episode of Boris Becker: The Rise & Fall, she detailed the first time they saw each other, their first date and also moving to Munich to be with her beau, as well as their ‘devastating’ break-up.
She said: ‘It always was my dream to come to New York and dance. The first time I met Boris we were on the dancefloor.
‘Of course you can spot Boris, because he’s very tall, and he had some moves, actually, surprisingly. We were dancing together ad there was definitely a spark.’
Caroline Rocher Barnes (pictured) met the three-time Wimbledon champion on a dancefloor in New York in 2002, where there ‘was definitely a spark’
She continued: ‘The next time we saw each other was a month later, and what really struck me was that we spent the night but he slept on the couch, so he was really a gentleman.’
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The dancer said the pair were ‘in love’ and ‘it was really exciting’ when they were together at the start – so much so that she moved to Munich to be with the German tennis player.
‘I moved to Munich. The transition was how can I, which word can I use? It was a lot,’ admitted Caroline, who was Becker’s first official partner following his divorce from Barbara Becker.
‘We were not living together because he was based in Zurich at the time. I guess that’s why the relationship didn’t last because we were not seeing each other enough.’
Speaking about the end of their time together, she added: ‘When the announcement was made that we were breaking up, i was in the French Caribbean visiting my father.
‘I guess the press didn’t know where I was but then they found me on the beach. it was devastating… because dealing with a break up is not easy, but then it’s all publicised so it makes it even harder.’
In an earlier episode of the documentary, the estranged wife of Becker who split from the tennis star before rekindling their romance years later said she took ‘every drug on Ibiza’ to try and get over him when he started a new romance.
Speaking in the second episode of Boris Becker: The Rise & Fall, Caroline (pictured with Becker in 2005) detailed the first time they saw each other, their first date and also moving to Munich to be with her beau, as well as their ‘devastating’ break-up
The dancer said the pair (pictured in 2003) were ‘in love’ and ‘it was really exciting’ when they were together at the start – so much so that she moved to Munich to be with the German tennis player
‘I moved to Munich. The transition was how can I, which word can I use? It was a lot,’ admitted Caroline (pictured with Becker in 2004), who was Becker’s first official partner following his divorce from Barbara Becker
Sharlely Kerssenberg, 47, said he left her feeling ‘ugly, old and unwanted’ when she discovered the three-time Wimbledon champion was engaged to the daughter of his former advisor and manager Axel Meyer-Wölden in 2008.
Shortly after separating from Dutch model Sharlely, who goes by Lilly, Becker quickly got engaged to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden – who was 16 years his junior.
The engagement fell through and Lilly took him back, with the pair marrying in 2009 and having a son, Amadeus, together. They later separated in 2018.
Becker has since served time in prison in the UK for hiding his assets after declaring bankruptcy, with Lilly criticising him earlier this year for neglecting his family and claiming his 30-month sentence had ‘ruined his reputation’.
Her latest revelations about the couple’s tumultuous relationship were made in the ITVX documentary, which tells the inside story of how one of the greatest sporting stars of all time, who was the youngest-ever winner of Wimbledon at just 17, ended up in Wandsworth Jail for hiding £2.6million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
In an earlier episode of the documentary, the estranged wife of Becker (pictured together in 2017) who split from the tennis star before rekindling their romance years later said she took ‘every drug on Ibiza’ to try and get over him when he started a new romance
Lilly took Becker back, with the pair marrying in 2009 (pictured at their wedding in St Mortiz, Switzerland)
Becker’s coaches, childhood friends and former lovers all speak out to reveal what he was like behind the grand slam titles, awards, and now jail sentence.
Among them, his second wife Lilly recalls the more difficult times in their relationship, discussing a call she received in London in 2008.
‘I woke up, my phone rang,’ she said. ‘I suddenly checked: This woman is younger, beautiful. That was devastating.
‘I said: ‘f*** it!’ I had to go to Ibiza. I’ve never felt so ugly, old and unwanted. The pain should go away.’
She said of her time on the party island, ‘I tried every mushroom (hallucinogenic mushrooms), every alcohol, every drug on Ibiza . I couldn’t get drunk enough to forget this man.’
The pair later reunited and married. She reflected on her relationship with the German tennis player: ‘I was just like, what’s the matter with this guy? He’s cute, friendly, funny, but he’s also arrogant, he’s a liar.
In a new ITVX documentary, Becker’s second wife Lilly recalled the more difficult times in their relationship
‘I was so deeply in love with him. With his charisma, his passion, his humor. The things the public loves him for.’
German media has claimed that the six-time Grand Slam champion has instructed his lawyers to try to block parts of the ITVX and Paramount Plus series from being aired.
Lilly said: ‘Boris is a narcissist. A selfish person. It scares him that he cannot influence the content of this documentary.
‘He is used to controlling and manipulating others. But I will not be silenced, even if he is once again sending his lawyers after me.
‘He wants to forbid me from talking about our son. He has only seen Amadeus once this year – and immediately posted a photo on Instagram to show what a great father he is. That’s who he is.’
When asked why she chose to appear in the documentary, Lilly said: ‘It is a perfect ending. A farewell to my life with Boris Becker. I have learned my lesson.
‘After the documentary, I never want to have to publicly talk about him again. I just want the divorce so that I can finally enjoy my life. Enough is enough!’
Lilly is now waiting for a divorce from Becker, and is now in a relationship again, telling German tabloid BILD: ‘I have a very happy relationship on an equal footing with my partner Thorsten.’
Lilly said of her former partner: ‘After the documentary, I never want to have to publicly talk about him again’. Pictured together in 2017
In an interview in February, after the former tennis star was released from prison in the UK and deported to Germany, Lilly opened up about the couple’s acrimonious separation and slammed Becker for how he mishandled his finances.
‘When I started to emancipate myself in marriage, there were arguments. Also because of Boris’s lies about his finances,’ she said.
‘Boris can be charming and loving when he wants to, but also extremely hurtful with words. A devil.
She also said: ‘Prison didn’t make Boris a better person. Boris lives in his world in which everything revolves around Boris Becker.
‘It is not my fault he went to prison. He ruined his reputation all by himself.’ Lilly also claimed Becker has not been there for their son, who is now 13.
Boris Becker: The Rise & Fall is available to stream exclusively on ITVX from 13 July 2023
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