Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian make up one of the world's top celebrity couples to
watch.
With a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, Williams was the highest-paid
female athlete for the second year running in 2017.
And as the co-founder of Reddit and Initialized Capital, Ohanian is a longtime Net Neutrality
activist who was dubbed the "Mayor of the Internet" by Forbes in 2012.
While these two are undoubtedly "couple goals," there's more to their relationship than meets
the eye.
Here are the weirdest things about their star-powered marriage.
"In a way, it's the greatest 'nerd makes good' story in history.
You marrying Serena Williams, I mean it's pretty unbelievable when you think about it."
Awkward meet-cute
Williams and Ohanian's love story may be one for the books, but it wasn't love at first
sight for this couple.
In May 2015, they met by chance at the Cavalieri hotel, in Rome.
While Williams lounged by the pool with a group of her friends, Ohanian unknowingly
sat down right next to the tennis superstar.
Williams told Vanity Fair in 2017 that she and her friends misread his close proximity
as "creeping".
"He plops down right next to us and I'm like, who is this guy and why are you here?"
and purposely lied about seeing a rat being nearby, to get him to leave.
She said,
"We were trying to get him to move.
He kind of refuses and he looks at us.
And he's like, 'Is there really a rat here?
I'm from Brooklyn.
I see rats all the time.'"
Intrigued by the startup guru's nonchalance, Williams invited Ohanian to join her group.
The pair shared their first official date just a few weeks later, a weekend getaway
in Paris.
"Careful, there's a rat.
There was no rat.
And now we're married."
Not exactly a fan
Williams and Ohanian may be at the top of their respective fields, but they were totally
clueless about each other's careers when they first met.
Ohanian admitted to Vanity Fair that while he knew a little bit about Williams' championship
titles, he wasn't interested at all in the sport itself, saying,
"[I had] never watched a match on television or in real life.
I really had no respect for tennis."
To be fair, Williams didn't know anything about Reddit at the time, either.
Ohanian ended up attending the 2015 Italian Open to watch Williams in action that week.
He then posted on Instagram: "Looks like I just became a tennis fan."
Dating on the DL
Williams and Ohanian were initially notoriously private about their blossoming romance.
The couple secretly dated for nearly 15 months before they finally went public with their
engagement in December 2016.
While the tech exec dropped hints about their relationship on social media during that time,
he didn't pop up in Williams' own Instagram feed until over a year after they met.
In a group photo in August 2016, she teased her secret boyfriend by referring to him as
"the nerd."
Ready for more
Before the two ever celebrated their first anniversary together, Ohanian knew he wanted
to marry Williams.
He told Vanity Fair,
"I felt like a door had been opened to a person who made me want to be my best self."
And he planned a picture-perfect proposal.
He flew Williams to Rome, and set up a trail of rose petals leading to the exact spot where
they first met.
Naturally, Williams announced their engagement on Reddit, calling herself "Future Mrs. Kn0thing,"
in reference to his username.
Accidental bump reveal
In April 2017, Williams accidentally revealed her first pregnancy when she infamously shared
and deleted a Snapchat selfie.
Fans may have been stunned, but the newly engaged pair couldn't have been more shocked
themselves when they found out they were expecting.
In the week leading up to the Australian Open in January of that year, Williams had been
feeling off, and she eventually took a pregnancy test.
As she recalled to Vanity Fair, the results read positive.
She said,
"[I] did a double take.
And my heart dropped.
Like literally it dropped.
Oh my God, this can't be, I've got to play a tournament.
How am I going to play the Australian Open?
I had planned on winning Wimbledon this year."
The tennis pro was in denial and needed some convincing, so she took five more tests, all
of which were positive.
When Ohanian flew into Melbourne to meet her, Williams simply handed the surprised internet
king a paper bag containing all six pregnancy tests.
"I wasn't quite sure what to think, but I just knew at that moment it was really important
for me to just focus right there at the Australian Open."
Determined to compete as planned, Williams famously went on to win her 23rd Grand Slam
title while roughly eight weeks pregnant.
Daughter Alexis Olympia arrived in September 2017.
Williams' childbirth complications ultimately led to utilizing her platform to advocate
for health care around the world.
She shared via Facebook:
"My personal experience was not great but it was MY experience and I'm happy it happened
to me.
It made me stronger."
A Marvel-ous gesture
Just ahead of their wedding, Ohanian rented out an entire movie theater so the whole family
could watch Thor: Ragnarok together.
The proud dad posted on an Instagram vid: "Thor: Ragnarok is a family affair."
He then added,
"Momma needed a day off to relax."
The clip then cut to him, Williams, and little Alexis Olympia cuddling in front of the big
screen, where Ohanian told his little girl,
"We're gonna cover your eyes for all the violent scenes."
"And she has earmuffs on."
"Safety first."
But Ohanian jokingly added,
"Even though Thor is your mother's other man.
It's okay, he's not that tall."
As the video came to an end, the tennis pro could be seen taking a nap and using her soon-to-be
husband's shoulder as a pillow.
Be our (wedding) guest
After a nearly year-long engagement, Williams and Ohanian tied the knot in November 2017
in New Orleans.
But their wedding was anything but ordinary.
Rather than opt for a traditional ceremony, the pair instead threw a Disney-themed affair.
The star-studded wedding, attended by the likes of Beyoncé, Eva Longoria, and Ciara,
included a magical Beauty and the Beast theme.
According to an Entertainment Tonight source, guests were greeted with the song "Be Our
Guest," and "were expected to dress to the theme."
Williams revealed to Vogue that she wanted her wedding to be "as non-traditional as possible."
As she glowed in an Alexander McQueen gown and Ohanian handsomely sported an Armani suit,
the couple exchanged personally written vows.
Ohanian told his stunning bride,
"You are the greatest of all time, not just in sport.
I'm talking about as a mother and as a wife.
I am so excited to write so many more chapters of our fairy tale together.
And my whole life I didn't even realize it, but I was waiting for this moment.
I am so grateful, and I am so in love."
After the Disney-themed ceremony transformed into a modern ball, the newlyweds' first dance
was set to "Tale as Old as Time" and "If I Can't Have You."
Oh, and New Edition gave a surprise performance at the reception, before Ohanian surprised
his wife with an all-white carousel as Ginuwine's "Pony" played.
Y'know, no big deal.
Putting it all out there
Ohanian clearly loves surprising his wife with grand gestures, but he may have topped
even himself with this one.
In February 2018, as Williams geared up for her highly anticipated return to tennis after
giving birth, the startup guru designed and put up four billboards to support her.
Ohanian took to social media to post a photo of his handy work.
Each billboard featured little Alexis Olympia and Williams, and boasted the acronym, "G.M.O.A.T."
(meaning, "Greatest Momma of All Time").
He wrote:
"These just went up on alongside I-10 into Palm Springs.
Olympia Ohanian & I wanted to welcome her back to tennis.
Designed them myself, with some help from Junior."
Days later, Williams made her triumphant return at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
With her family cheering her on in an admittedly extravagant way, she defeated her opponent,
Zarina Diyas, in the first round of the tournament.
Relationship goals
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian's relationship may have its fair share of quirks and insanely
wild extravagances, but at the end of the day, there's no doubt these two are clearly
total Relationship Goals.
The married pair is known to share their funniest, cutest, and most romantic moments on social
media, just proving that no matter where they are in the world, they're never that far apart.
And for a world class athlete, an internet mogul, plus little, adorable Alexis Olympia?
That's a pretty huge accomplishment.
And we dare fans not to audibly sigh whenever Williams gushes about her man.
She wrote on Instagram at the end of 2017, while sharing her top 10 favorite moments
with Ohanian:
"He's my rock my backbone my love.
I am so lucky to have found this wonderful man that treats me better than a queen.
I love you Alexis you make me excited to wake up every morning knowing I'll get to see you."
Serena may win all the championships, but Ohanian's clearly won her heart.
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