By Wonderwall.com Editors
4:00am PST, Nov 14, 2023
_
Barbra Streisand's relationship with tennis champ Andre Agassi was long portrayed as mysterious — if not scandalous, given their 28-year age gap — after she was first spotted attending his matches in the early '90s. But as the Oscar winner writes in her new memoir, "My Name Is Barbra" — released in November 2023 — the connection she shared with Andre was "fun," if "completely unexpected."
It was also meaningful enough that the two went to great lengths to see each other, regularly dodging throngs of paparazzi — sometimes in the most creative ways. In a excerpt from the book published by DailyMail.com, Barbra recalls that the two were so hounded by the press when she went to see Andre compete at Wimbledon in 1993 that he found a clever albeit uncomfortable way to avoid nosy photographers when they hung out together at night in London.
One evening, she writes, "When Andre joined us for dinner, his driver actually hid him in the trunk of the car." At the time, Barbra was 51 and Andre was 23.
Keep reading for more revelations about Barbra's unexpected bond with Andre Agassi…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
_
Barbra Streisand and Andre Agassi first became friendly courtesy of a mutual friend: hotel mogul Steve Wynn. According to Barbra's November 2023 memoir, Steve told her the young tennis star "admired" her.
"Since I don't follow sports, I hadn't heard of him," she writes. "Steve explained that he was a tennis champion who was going to be playing at Wimbledon, so I said, 'Oh, wish him well from me.'"
Andre later contacted Barbra directly to tell her how much he'd enjoyed her 1991 film "Prince of Tides."
"We ended up talking for two hours," she writes, adding that she still didn't know what he looked like. When she saw him play at Wimbledon on TV, however, she was impressed. He was "nice-looking, and had good teeth!" she writes. He also had his first Grand Slam win, so Barbra congratulated him via telegram.
MORE: Check out the biggest revelations from memoirs by Britney Spears, Jada Pinkett Smith and more stars
_
Recalling how their friendship deepened, Barbra Streisand writes in her November 2023 memoir that Andre Agassi was "smart, and even more appealing to me, he was emotionally wise beyond his years." The singer, now 81, also maintains she and Andre, 53, were just friends, though that didn't stop her from wanting to impress him.
"I remember playing tennis with him as my partner in doubles (don't laugh)," she writes, "and I was trying so hard that I tore my meniscus. I actually heard it pop, but I didn't want to stop, even to ice it, because I didn't want to look like a wimp."
Andre's also referred to his bond with Barbra as a "friendship" despite the dating rumors that followed them for years. He recalled the intense press scrutiny of their relationship in his 2009 memoir, "Open."
"She arrives at Centre Court to watch me play and there is practically a flurry of trumpets. Celebrities attend Wimbledon all the time, but Barbra's appearance causes a stir like none I've seen," Andre writes, per DailyMail.com. "Reporters harass her, then later pester me about her, and the tabloids take great pains to dissect and belittle our relationship, which is nothing more than a passionate friendship."
MORE: Surprising celebrity couples
_
Andre Agassi also admitted he and Barbra Streisand got a kick out of the "public outcry" over their relationship.
"More often than not, Barbra and I laugh at the shock and scandal our dates cause," the tennis star writes in 2009's "Open." "We agree that we're good for each other, and so what if she's 28 years older?" The two were "simpatico, and the public outcry only adds spice to our connection," he continues.
"It makes our friendship feel forbidden, taboo — another piece of my overall rebellion. Dating Barbra Streisand is like wearing Hot Lava."
While he and Barbra maintained their secretly G-rated friendship, Andre married Brooke Shields in 1997. They divorced two years later. He's been married to fellow tennis great Steffi Graf since 2001.
_
Barbra Streisand's November 2023 memoir also covers her long relationship with husband James Brolin, who she met on a blind date in 1996 — and whose sleepy, romantic comment indirectly inspired an Aerosmith song.
According to Barbra, the two were drifting off to sleep one night when James said, "I don't want to fall asleep." She asked why and he explained, "'Cause I'll miss you.'"
"What a beautiful, poetic thing to say," she writes. "And it captured a moment of complete bliss … physical, emotional, spiritual." Barbra says she shared his moving comment with Barbara Walters during an interview on "20/20" in 1997 and it caught the attention of songwriter Diane Warren, who'd been watching the show.
Diane then funneled James's words into what became one of Aerosmith's biggest hits, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing."
