"With Andre Agassi, it felt good to feel smaller"

Andre Agassi’s ex-wife Brooke Shields recently opened up about her relationship with the tennis legend and shared how she navigated through his stardom in addition to her own.

Before tying the knot with fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf in 2001, Agassi was married to Hollywood actress Brooke Shields. The former couple first got together in 1993 and exchanged vows four years later in 1997.

Their marriage, however, did not stand the test of time. Andre Agassi and the actress divorced in 1999, after a couple of tumultuous years, as stated in the duo’s respective memoirs. Shields also indicated that the American’s addiction to crystal meth at the time, and his alleged jealousy contributed to their separation.

Although their relationship turned sour, the actress has maintained that she is appreciative of the years she spent with the eight-time Grand Slam champion. During a recent conversation with AARP, the ‘Mother of the Bride’ actress, acknowledged the former World No. 1’s stardom and said that she was more than happy to take a back seat despite her own popularity.

"With Andre, it also felt good to feel smaller than another, because he was so famous and number 1 in the world. Everywhere we went, he had tons of bodyguards," she said.

The 58-year-old called playing second fiddle a “respite.”

"I could sit back because it wasn’t my world. He was the first one out of the car when we arrived at events. It was a real kind of respite," she added.

Brooke Shields on Andre Agassi's support amid her separation from her mother: "I wasn't strong enough to separate on my own"

Brooke Shields pictured cheering Andre Agassi on during the 1995 Wimbledon Championships

Brooke Shields previously shared how Andre Agassi helped her get out of her toxic and emotionally abusive relationship with her mother with love and care. The actress, however, also separately admitted to the tennis player being “a very controlling person.”

Speaking about whether leaning on Agassi for support was essentially her going from one controlling relationship to another, Shields said:

"It was a transition that I needed," she said in the aforementioned interview.

Andre Agassi’s ex-wife further indicated that she needed the four-time Australian Open champion by her side as she wasn’t strong enough to separate from her mother, which also meant parting ways with her professionally.

"I wasn’t strong enough to separate from my mother on my own. I kept falling back in," Shields said.

"I studied, studied, studied, and took serious acting classes. And I replaced my mom with a real agent. My mother kept calling it a divorce. And I was like, ‘Oh Mom, I’m still your daughter, but if I’m going to do this, I have to do this on my own. I’ll make my own mistakes," she added.