Pete Sampras revealed that his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, has been battling ovarian cancer for nearly one year.
“This past year has been an exceptionally challenging time for my family,” the retired tennis star, 52, said in a statement shared via social media on Sunday, October 29. “Last December, my wife, Bridgette, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Since then, she has had major surgery, pushed through chemotherapy and continues with targeted maintenance therapy.”
Sampras continued: “It is hard to watch someone you love go through a challenge like this. However, seeing our boys step up and be such strong supporters of Bridgette, myself and each other has been amazing. Watching Bridgette continue to be an incredible mom and wife through it all has been inspiring.”
Sampras concluded his message by asking fans to keep his wife, 50, in their thoughts. “I have also learned that it is very hard to reach for support when something is simply too hard to talk about,” he wrote. “I will end this by humbly asking for good thoughts and prayers for our family as Bridgette continues to thrive on her healing journey.”
The former athlete and Wilson-Sampras tied the knot in 2000. The couple share sons Christian, 20, and Ryan, 18.
Wilson-Sampras is perhaps best known for her role in 2001’s The Wedding Planner, in which she played Fran, the ultimately jilted fiancée of Matthew McConaughey’s character, Steve. She also starred as Elsa Shivers in 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer and appeared alongside Claire Danes in 2005’s Shopgirl. Her TV roles include stints on Saved by the Bell and The $treet.
After becoming a mom in 2002, Wilson-Sampras began taking on fewer acting roles. Sampras, meanwhile, retired from professional tennis in 2002.
“She put her career aside after we were married,” Sampras said of his wife in the 2020 book Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited. “Bridgette always wanted to be a mother. That is why I knew she was the one for me. She loved her work and was very good at it and did 30 movies, but ultimately she wanted to be a wife and mom and not be pulled in other directions.”
Ahead of son Christian’s arrival, Wilson-Sampras joked that it made no difference to her whether her husband kept playing as a dad, because he’d be on dad duty no matter what. “He’ll be a little of Mr. Mom if he’s on the road or not,” she told Sports Illustrated in 2002. “I told him, ‘Wait and make your decision once little Pee-Wee comes. Middle of the night wake-ups and feedings might make you go, ‘I really need to go play tennis.’”
