On Tuesday, Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian, the tennis player’s husband, shared the news that the couple had become parents to their second child, a girl named Adira River Ohanian.
This is the couple’s second kid; they originally met in a hotel lobby in Rome seven years ago, which began the beginning of a high-profile and passionate romance for the ages. This event celebrates the birth of the couple’s second child.
From the time they first met until the time they welcomed their two lovely children into the world as a married couple, the super star tennis champion and the co-founder of Reddit have had an endearing relationship that has taken them over the world and has the feel of a novel.
Now, Entertainment Tonight is taking a look back at their relationship, from the time they first met to the time they had their second child.
The first time Serena and Alexis laid eyes on one other was like something out of a romance movie. It took place in Rome at the Cavalieri Hotel, where the tennis legend was staying with a friend at the time. Alexis was also making a presentation at a technology conference that was being hosted at the same hotel at the same time.
In September of 2022, Serena had a conversation with Drew Barrymore, during which she remembered how she had been irritated by Alexis in the beginning, before she even knew who he was.
“When this person walks in, the whole establishment is deserted. And then this man, who is like incredibly tall, walks over with his computer and sits down right next to us. And he opens his computer, and he begins typing,” Serena said, detailing how she and her companion had attempted to “scare” him away by stating they’d spotted a rat, but Alexis didn’t seem to be the least bit fazed by their story. “And he opens his computer, and he starts typing,” Serena added.
Alexis eventually told Serena that he was one of the co-founders of Reddit during their conversation; however, this fact did not prove to be nearly as amazing as one would think it would be due to the fact that Serena was not familiar with the website at the time. Despite this, she continued to act as if she knew the information, and she seemed embarrassed when he asked her a question about the forum site.
In spite of this, Serena asked Alexis for his phone number, and the two of them started exchanging text messages with one another now and again. After some time, Serena revealed that she had asked her opponent to attend her compete in a match in Paris, France, by mistake. She said that she was kidding because she had just competed in a match in which she did not do as well as she had hoped she would, and she added that she wanted him to see her perform at her very best level. She was taken aback when he decided to act on her recommendation.
“I couldn’t have been more opposed to his coming. I had not even considered it in that context or anything like that. And then he was like, ‘Oh yes, I’ll be there,’ and I was like, ‘Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?'” Serena cracked a joke.
Alexis dropped the question to Serena after they had been seeing one other for almost a year, and she said yes! In point of fact, Alexis planned a surprise trip to Rome for Serena and proposed to her there, on one knee, at the identical hotel and table where they had their first encounter.
The pair informed their followers of the news via various platforms of social media, with Serena posting the following on Reddit: “I returned home. A tiny bit overdue. Someone else was responsible for packing my suitcase for me. In the meanwhile, a carriage stood by. Rome is the last destination. to accompany me to my very own ‘charming.’ Back to the place where our destinies first crossed paths. And with that, the cycle was complete. We had a random encounter at the same table where we initially met. However, on purpose. Get down on your knees. It was a four-word statement from him. And I replied with a yes.
A photo that the professional tennis player shared to her Snapchat account was the vehicle via which she broke the wonderful and unexpected news that she was expecting her first child. The pregnant athlete proudly displayed her gorgeous growing tummy while wearing a lemonade yellow bikini with silver buttons on the side.
“20 weeks,” the phrase that was written over the picture in the post, which she later erased, read. After some time, a representative for Williams confirmed the news to ET, saying, “I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this fall.”
The news was also shared on the official Twitter account for the US Open Tennis Championships, which said, “.@serenawilliams will soon have a new pride & pleasure to embrace and call her own! Your joyful news about the upcoming baby deserves congratulations. Hashtag: “#USOpen”