Jelena Dokic has revealed she has been “closed” to finding love since splitting from her Brazilian boyfriend Tin Bikic.
The couple was together for almost 19 years before announcing that they had ended their relationship in 2021.
Despite saying her walls have been up ever since, Jelena, 41, took to Instagram on Thursday to heartbreakingly admit that she’s “afraid to be alone” for the rest of her life.
‘Love. It has been a challenging personal period. “We don’t talk about this enough, but relationship breakups are very difficult,” she said alongside a selfie.
‘And if you’ve been the one who’s been hurt or abandoned, then let’s be honest, it’s life-destroying. And as you get older, things become more difficult, with more scars, pain and pain.
‘My 19 year relationship ended 4 years ago (sic) and although we will always look out for each other, especially since we were together since we were 20, that chapter is now over.’
Jelena Dokic, 41, (pictured) has revealed in a heartbreaking message that she has been “closed” to finding love since splitting from her former Brazilian boyfriend Tin Bikic.
Jelena went on to say that she was “made” to love a person “unconditionally and so fully that it gets me in trouble.”
“It turns into anguish and pain,” he lamented. ‘I put up walls 4 years ago and said they would never fall.
‘But as life likes to show us, not everything we plan or think will happen actually happens. Then, of course, someone broke down those walls and I got hurt. Seriously.
“So I guess the question is: do we keep our walls down and wait for love to come?” Or do we never give it a chance again and let the walls crumble?
‘There are people who will have different answers. I’ve been alone and closed off for 4 years and I still don’t know what the answer is.’
The Australian tennis commentator said she now has “a lot of abandonment issues” from her past, which make her “feel like I’ll be alone forever.”
Jelena was referring to the horrendous abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and tennis coach Damir Dokic.
‘Am I the only one who’s afraid of being alone for the rest of my life?’ the media personality candidly asked her fans.
The couple were together for almost 19 years before announcing they had ended their relationship in 2021. Pictured together in 2013.
“Breaking down walls has also brought up some feelings and triggers that I’ve never had before and I don’t know how to react or what to do,” Jelena continued in the long letter.
‘The bottom line is that it is difficult and what do we do? Shut us down forever or hurt ourselves and feel pain to maybe one day feel that incredible, crazy love again?”
Luckily, Jelena ended her sad caption on a hopeful note, saying she “won’t give up” on her search for love.
“I will never give up and one day those walls will come down again and I hope the wait and the pain and the pain and the disappointment will be worth it and I will find that wonderful love,” she said.
Jelena was left ‘devastated’ after her split from long-term boyfriend Tin Bikic in 2021, and last year revealed how heartbroken she was.
She took to Instagram in August last year to mark the anniversary of their breakup with some thoughtful words.
‘Breakups of any kind are difficult. “They are heartbreaking, crushing, devastating and can change you forever,” he wrote.
‘It’s important not to get angry or bitter and instead know that those scars and wounds will heal one day and that you will become a wiser, better, stronger person.
Despite revealing that her walls have been up since then, Jelena took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal that she’s “scared of being alone” for the rest of her life.
Jelena confirmed the news that she and her Brazilian-born boyfriend had split in a heartbreaking Instagram post in January 2022.
‘My breakup left me crushed and changed me to the core. Even though I was devastated and it changed me forever, I handled it with kindness, understanding, grace and dignity.
‘No shouting, anger or bitterness. And that’s why I’m very proud of myself. Stay kind and positive.’
Jelena confirmed the news that she and her Brazilian-born boyfriend had split in a heartbreaking Instagram post in January 2022.
Alongside a photo of the couple together with a torn graphic in the middle, she wrote: “After almost 19 years together, Tin and I have decided to go our separate ways.
“Sometimes these things happen, people distance themselves and it’s for the best.”
At the time, Jelena admitted that she was struggling emotionally and mentally with the separation.
“I would be lying if I said I was doing well, but I will do everything I can to heal, recover, and process this pain and trauma,” she wrote.
He then thanked his fans, friends and loved ones for their support and said he hopes to “come back soon, hopefully, stronger than ever and in a much better place.”
The former world number 4 was born in what was once Yugoslavia and her family moved to Australia when she was 11 years old.
Her tennis career peaked when she reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 1999 and the semi-finals in 2000, followed by the quarter-finals of the 2002 French Open.