Tennis star nicknamed ‘The Scud’ appeared on dating show and is married to model

Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis had a different route to love – and before he tied the knot with stunning model Silvana Philippoussis, he appeared on a dating show.

In 2007, one year before Philippoussis hung up his racket, the Aussie star appeared on the Age of Love. The concept of the show was simple: find the ex-Wimbldeon finalist love.

Contestants were divided into two age groups – the "kittens", who were women in their 20s, and the "cougars", who were women in their late 30s to late 40s. Philippoussis would take at least one woman on a date each week, before eliminating one contestant.

This continued until just three women remained, when they were flown to Melbourne to meet his family. The show was won by Amanda Salinas, 25, a hockey team dancer for the Nashville Predators in the US.

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However, less than two months after the end of the show the pair had a bitter split. And Amanda slammed the tennis star: "I just called and left a message saying I was disappointed and please don't contact me anymore."

She added: "He was supposed to be training but he didn't train a day that I knew him. He seemed aloof!"

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However, The Scud – as he's been named, after the Scud missile – was soon tied down by stunning Romanian-born model Silvana Lovin.

The pair met in 2012 through mutual friends, before they tied the knot in 2013 in a private ceremony in California. The family originally settled down in San Diego – but they soon moved back to Philippoussis' hometown of Melbourne.

"My wife and my kids, that is my number one, my number one passion, my number one motivation, my number one drive, that is everything," he said.

"I want to see my kids grow up next to their family, next to their cousins, their aunties and uncles."

Philippoussis never did quite leave his reality TV stint behind him, and in 2020, the tennis star featured on Australia's version of the Masked Singer.

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