Martina Navratilova's wife Julia Lemigova firmly sides with Larsa Pippen amid American TV personality's viral controversy

Martina Navratilova's wife Julia Lemigova recently sent a heartwarming message to Larsa Pippen, her fellow cast member on "The Real Housewives of Miami". Lemigova's message came amid a viral controversy that involved Pippen's facial appearance being heavily criticized.

A cosmetic physician's Instagram handle recently criticized a photo of Pippen, originally taken during an appearance the American TV personality made on FOX 5 New York's "Good Night New York". The critique suggested that the American TV personality's face appeared "noticeably overfilled" in the photo.

Pippen subsequently responded via an Instagram Story, hinting at manipulation of her face in the photo. The 51-year-old also claimed that the degree of swelling visible in her facial appearance in the original photo stemmed from an allergic reaction to a temporary Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment. Pippen said in the video:

"Okay, so I feel like that photo went viral. I’m wondering if someone made it look like that because this is what my face looks like, you guys. I’m on TV, so you know what I look like. I just shot my reunion a couple of days ago, so you’ll see what I look like at my reunion. I did have PRP. I did have an allergic reaction to the PRP, which I didn’t even know you can have, so my face is a bit swollen, but it doesn’t look like that. So keep on hating, guys."

The 51-year-old had earlier commented with the same claim on the viral post shared by the cosmetic physician's Instagram handle. However, the physician's handle subsequently questioned Pippen's claim, suggesting the "extremely rare" nature of allergic reactions to PRP treatments.

On Sunday, August 10, Martina Navratilova's wife Julia Lemigova took to her Instagram Stories and shared an all-smiles picture of herself and fellow "The Real Houswives of Miami" cast member Larsa Pippen. Expressing solidarity with Pippen amid the intense scrutiny and criticism her friend is being subjected to over her facial appearance, Lemigova wrote:

"Behind every headline and photo is a human being with a heart. This obsession with tearing women down the moment they look 'different' is toxic, cruel, and beneath all of us. My friend you have always been stunning inside and out @larsapippen"

Lemigova's Instagram Story (now-disappeared) featuring her message of support for Pippen (Source: Instagram/julialemigova)

Martina Navratilova married Julia Lemigova back in December 2014; couple celebrated 10th marriage anniversary earlier this year

Julia Lemigova (left) and Martina Navratilova (right) (Source: Getty)

Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova's first-ever meeting came in a bar in 2000. However, their romance would begin eight years later. In December 2014, the lovebirds got hitched. However, instead of celebrating their 10th marriage anniversary in December last year, they postponed it to a more special day; this year's Valentine's Day.

The Czech-American tennis legend and the Russian former model shared a snippet of their celebrations, with Lemigova sharing a video as an Instagram Story. The video featured the happily-married couple cutting a cake as their friends wished them all the best on their anniversary. Lemigova captioned the post:

"Celebrating 10 years together💕"

Over the years, Julia Lemigova has been quite vocal about her relationship with Martina Navratilova, including the former WTA No. 1 and 18-time singles Major champion's cancer battles.