With the rash of over-the-top celebrity weddings occurring lately, and the feeding frenzy of media attention they draw, it is hard to imagine a high profile couple being able to marry in secret; easy to see the appeal, but hard to imagine.
However, international pop star Enrique Iglesias and tennis superstar Anna Kournikova have been together for eight years, and has constantly been able to keep the media guessing as to the status of their relationship for almost a decade.
The couple first met when Kournikova stared in the Latin singer’s music video for the song Escape in late 2001, and have reportedly been together ever since. Although the pair has been constantly plagued with rumors of breakup, there have been equal speculations about marriage.
Despite the fact that the two are steadfastly silent regarding the status of their relationship, rumors have plagued them since the very start, sometimes created by their own actions. In 2007, Iglesias was quoted as saying that he had no intentions to marry Kournikova because the two had already split up, a statement he later denied, claiming he was misquoted.
Iglesias has addressed rumors that he is against marriage telling reporters, “A lot of people think that I’m against marriage, but you can be happy with someone without being married.”
But in June of 2008, Iglesias gave an interview to the Daily Sun paper, claiming that the he and Kournikova had already married and had separated the year before. Another claim that the musician later claimed was only a joke.
For her part, Kournikova has never commented on the exact status of her relationship, but recently told Graham Norton, when appearing on his show, that she sees no point in marrying if the couple was already happy together.
However, her actions seem to contradict her words, as the two-time, Grand Slam doubles champ has been seen wearing a large Radiant cut, canary yellow diamond ring since 2009, which has only helped to add fuel to the fire. Due to her refusal to answer questions about her relationship, there are few details known about the ring, but many believe it is actually an engagement ring from Iglesias.
And just this weekend, the couple was spotted leaving dinner in Hollywood with Kournikova leading the way wearing what looked like a diamond wedding band, igniting the latest round of wedding rumors.
Although Kournikova is almost never seen without her yellow diamond, this is only the second time the wedding band styled ring has been seen on her hand, leading some to believe that the two have somehow managed to exchange wedding rings in secret.
Considering the couple’s tight-lipped attitude and their ability to keep the media running in circles, it is highly likely that we will never know the truth. But as Kournikova has said herself in the past, what does it matter when 8 years is longer than most married couples stay together.