Why Bec and Lleyton Hewitt are splitting for the kids!
The couple are separating out of love for their three children.
With their three children already forging career paths for themselves, Bec and Lleyton Hewitt are selling up their palatial Sydney family home as Lleyton plans to spend even more time apart from Bec.
“They are totally devoted parents and would do anything for their kids, even if it means they need to spend months apart,” reveals one family friend, who says their huge Glenhaven estate no longer suits their needs.
Kids come first
“Lleyton will be spending weeks, if not months overseas, to help coach and support Cruz on the tennis circuit. He’s 17 and needs his dad by his side,” says the friend.
“Lleyton knows how important it is to have that support. He had his parents with him at the same age, and then after he married Bec, she gave it all up to follow him around the world.”
While their unorthodox choices to live apart as a family attracts criticism – and puts a strain on their marriage – Bec and Lleyton both know this is a crucial time for Cruz, and they are willing to make any sacrifice to give him the best opportunity to succeed. They’re even talking about setting up a permanent base overseas, possibly in Florida or the Bahamas again.
Lleyton, 45, famously relocated the family to the North Atlantic, splashing out on a luxury compound in Nassau in the Bahamas in 2009 to cut down on gruelling long-haul flights during the tennis season.
“If Cruz is going to make it, he will be spending up to 10 months of the year overseas, and Bec knows how hard it is to live out of a suitcase. She hates the thought of him suffering loneliness on the circuit.
“Bec understands that if they buy a place overseas where Lleyton and Cruz can live most of the time, it will provide a secure base and allow Lleyton to guide his career and continue to coach him.”
Bec, who turns 43 in a few weeks, has reconciled herself to being separated from Lleyton for extended periods, knowing that she needs to be based in Sydney for Mia and Ava, who are carving out their careers.
“The place they’re selling is huge and even though it’s a fortress with the best security money can buy, she doesn’t want to be rattling around there by herself for months at a time.”
The couple last week listed the “world class estate of unrivalled elegance” they bought for $10.3 million in 2023, with expectations it will sell for more than $14 million.
With Lleyton planning to relocate overseas for part of the year, the couple are looking at buying a base closer to the Sydney CBD, so Bec can continue to guide and support Mia and Ava.
Mia, 20, a model who is also the lead singer in folk band Father’s Favourite, even sparked rumours she may be heading down the aisle with her rocker boyfriend of two years, Liquid Zoo frontman Vanda Erich, after posting an image with a sparkler on her ring finger earlier this year.
Her baby sister, Ava, who turns 16 in October, also looks set to fly the coop sooner rather than later, having already carved out a TV career as a Nick News host on Nickelodeon and as a professional dancer.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Ava headed to LA in the next few years to study dance and acting and hit the audition circuit – it’s something her mum always dreamed of, and she doesn’t want anything to hold Ava back from following her own dreams,” the family friend says.
“If they have to take a step back to help their kids now, that’s what they’ll do.”