Former professional tennis player Dominika Cibulková has confirmed her divorce from businessman Michal Navara after 10 years of marriage. The confirmation came after months of speculation regarding the couple’s relationship, with Cibulková stating the decision was made after a long period of consideration.
“Together with Michal, we have decided to go our separate ways,” Cibulková announced on Instagram. “It was not an easy decision, but we remain the parents of our children, who respect each other. Our children are and always will be our biggest priority. Many of you certainly know how painful and difficult separations are. It is a difficult period for us, especially when the situation is a public topic full of stories and speculation that have nothing to do with reality.”
Cibulková, 36, and Navara, 40, share two children: a five-year-old son, Jakubko, and a two-year-old daughter, Ninka. The couple had been together for 17 years, becoming one of the most prominent couples in the Czech and Slovak entertainment scene.
While initially reluctant to comment on the details, Cibulková later spoke to Slovenka magazine, acknowledging the public interest while emphasizing the privacy of the situation. “I am used to my life being in the public eye, even though I am not one to constantly seek attention or call journalists. So I am used to the attention, it is part of my life. And when something good happens, like the birth of children, it is pleasant when people rejoice with you and feel sympathetic towards you. But there are certain boundaries that should not be crossed, because if someone does not know what the essence of things is, it is difficult to comment on anything,” she said.
Cibulková described a shift in their perspectives over time. “We met, got to know each other, traveled, enjoyed life. Then came the wedding, one child, another child, and we also had to deal with everyday life, worries, and problems. It wasn’t easy for me as an active athlete to fit into everyday life. But it worked, even if everything wasn’t always ideal or textbook. Over time, there were more problems, it wasn’t easy, but I loved the beautiful image of our family, which was 100 percent real. There was nothing false or superficial about it. But at some point, our views with Michal began to diverge. We were no longer the same twenty-five-year-olds, but each had a different view on certain things. Sometimes a time comes when even two people don’t know what’s happening, they start to drift apart and realize that something is not right,” she explained.
According to reports in Slovak media, Navara filed for divorce. Sources close to the couple indicated that Navara was deeply affected by allegations of infidelity involving Cibulková and Tibor Vincze, a former business partner of Navara’s. Cibulková has been seen with Vincze in recent weeks.
“Michal took this highly hard. He has looked very tormented for a long time. I feel like he has aged several years. Last week he couldn’t capture it anymore and filed for divorce,” a source told Šport24.sk.
Alexandra Vincze, the wife of Tibor Vincze, offered a statement to Nový Čas, defending her husband and expressing disappointment in Cibulková’s actions. “Michal has always been faithful to his wife. He would do anything for his family. He is a perfect father, I have never seen a better one. The children are everything to him. He valued his wife and supported her in every way, whether in her tennis career or in other matters. He always stood by her.”
Cibulková, however, expressed a sense of liberation in acknowledging the separation. “I have a clear idea of my life. Maybe it’s related to sports, where you have to have everything planned exactly. And it was the same in this case. We met, got to know each other, traveled, enjoyed life. Then came the wedding, one child, another child, and we also had to deal with everyday life, worries, and problems. But it’s good that we’re talking about it, because finally I can name the feeling I have inside me. And that is freedom. It’s as if a heavy weight has fallen off my shoulders. I have freed myself from suffering, difficulties, what people will say. From what will happen if my ideal world collapses. Finally, I am myself,” she stated in her interview with Slovenka.
The couple is reportedly communicating through lawyers as the divorce proceedings move forward. Cibulková indicated she hopes they can remain friends in the future, acknowledging the value of their 15 years together.
