Jimmy Connors pens heartfelt anniversary message for wife Patti: "You have made my life so special, and we have more to come"

Jimmy Connors recently penned a heartfelt anniversary message for his wife Patti.

Connors married Patti in 1979. At the time, Patti was a successful model for Playboy magazine. She was chosen as the magazine's Playmate of the Month in November 1976, and in 1977 was the Playmate of the Year.

Connors and Patti have two children; son Brett, who hosts the Advantage Connors podcast alongside the eight-time Grand Slam winner, and daughter Aubree. The couple lives in California's Santa Barbara area.

However, their marriage has seen its fair share of turbulent times. In a 2013 interview with NBC News, Connors admitted to openly cheating on Patti in the past. Despite his infidelity, Patti decided to forgive him. In the same interview, the former Playboy model discussed why she stayed with Connors.

"Bottom line is I loved him. I came from a broken family. My mother and father were divorced when I was 19 months old, and you know, no one's infallible. We all make mistakes." Patti said.

Connors took to social media to wish Patti on their 45th marriage anniversary.

"Happy Anniversary to my #1 @PattiConnors — after all these years— ups & down- good and bad- and all the in-between- we have beaten the odds-( lol )— you have made my life so special- and we have more to come— “ Dance on “ !! #" the former World No. 1 wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Jimmy Connors backs Andrey Rublev over his controversial default in Dubai

Jimmy Connors at the 2012 US Open

Controversy rocked men's tennis recently after Andrey Rublev was defaulted at the Dubai Tennis Championships. During a tense semifinal encounter against Alexander Bublik, Rublev was left fuming after a point in the third set went his opponent's way. The Russian couldn't contain his frustration and yelled at a line judge from close quarters.

The ATP supervisor, accompanied by a Russian-speaking aide, declared Rublev guilty of swearing at the line judge in Russian. The World No. 5 vehemently denied the accusations. However, Rublev's pleas were in vain as he was defaulted and forced to forfeit the match.

In a recent episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, Jimmy Connors came to Rublev's defense.

"They've totally taken his voice away, you know, to where he has to go and conform to whatever has been thrown at him," he said.