Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Claps Back at Critics Accusing Her of Skin Bleaching

Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian just aced this comeback.

The Reddit cofounder, 42, recently addressed online trolls accusing his wife of bleaching her skin.

The tennis icon shared family photos from sister Venus Williams’ wedding on social media Jan. 6, showing Alexis standing next to his favorite ladies: Serena in a white gown and daughters Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2, in matching blue dresses.

READ: Serena Williams surprises fans with a tender and personal

The legendary athlete captioned the social media photos, “Joy does not always roar sometimes it whispers. It important to savor those sweet moments… I love this picture so I wanted to share it with you.”

However, some online users speculated that Serena had used products to lighten her skin tone. In response to negative comments about her appearance, Alexis quickly came to her defense, writing alongside her X post, “Where are all the comments from idiots who don’t understand how photography lighting works.”

And when one user claimed, “Alexis wants Black people to believe we don’t know what photography lighting looks like vs blatant skin lightening,” he wrote back, “Or: photos from the same event can look different based on lighting.”

Serena has previously denied accusations of skin bleaching.

During an Instagram Live in December 2024, the 23-time Grand Slam champion addressed claims that she purposely altered her complexion after she shared a video of herself at a school event with Alexis and their two daughters.

Weighing in on the topic, Serena told viewers on the Live, “No, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin.”

Instagram

She went on to explain that she was volunteering at her daughter’s play in the viral video and was wearing “stage makeup” when she recorded the clip in November 2024.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Ooh, she bleached her skin,’” she said. “I’m a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am, and I love how I look.”

Game, Set, Perfect Match: Inside Serena Williams Love Story With Alexis Ohanian

It’s no surprise that Alexis Ohanian simply aced his first date with tennis legend Serena Williams.

For the first half of the 2015 outing, the Reddit cofounder served up answer after answer as Williams, her assistant and agent Jill Smoller “just bombarded me with questions—it was like two hours of interrogation,” the 42-year-old recounted in Williams’ 2024 ESPN+ docuseries In The Arena. “‘Do I have kids? Am I married?’ Nothing was off limits.”

READ: “He destroyed me”: Serena Williams blames her father Richard for

Then he swooped in with a tidbit that truly saved the day.

“He started talking about Iron Man and Marvel,” Williams detailed. “That’s the way to my heart.”

It’s just one of many trick plays the tech entrepreneur has employed in their decade together.

There was also the time he commissioned a series of billboards to be set up in Palm Springs, welcoming his wife back to competition following an incredibly arduous maternity leave in 2018. And his decision to sweep her off to Venice because she mentioned that some pasta might be nice.

And, of course, there was his display at the 2019 U.S. Open in which he trolled his wife’s opponent, Maria Sharapova, exposing his D.A.R.E. t-shirt, a nod to Sharapova’s two-year doping ban, only when it was clear that Williams had cruised to a victory.

Get yourself a man who can be petty on your behalf and deftly shut down trolls. (As in, no, her Crip Walk during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance was about so much more than her romance with Drake, sorry, Stephen A. Smith.)

Ohanian, of course, is taken, with he and Williams, 44, tying the knot in New Orleans on Nov. 16, 2017.

And the University of Virginia grad has spent the eight years since reminding everyone that he’s scored the greatest tennis player in the world and the GMOAT (that’d be the Greatest Momma of All Time) to their 8-year-old daughter, future tennis ace Alexis Olympia Ohanian (a.k.a. the star of the 2024 ESPYs) and 2-year-old Adira River Ohanian.

While she boasts a record-setting 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era, Ohanian entered their union with what he called “the cheat code for partnership,” cribbed from his parents’ own experiences.

And the multi-millionaire entrepreneur’s secrets had little to do with extravagant trips and public displays of infatuation.

“You have to show up,” he wrote in a Glamour essay, published, appropriately, on Valentine’s Day in 2019. “You have to be supportive. These are the things that matter.”

Having watched his parents—who fell in love over a two-week span in Ireland—commit as “partners in the truest sense,” the New York City native was ready when he crossed paths with Williams at the Cavalieri hotel in Rome.

Though it may have helped if he’d seen even one moment of tennis in his lifetime.

Williams was there on business, prepping to play in the Italian Open. And while Ohanian was allegedly in town to speak at the Festival of Media Global conference, he had spent the night before their chance meeting in May 2015 drinking with Kristen Wiig. So he was just a touch out of sorts when he claimed the table next to Williams, her agent and her pal, one they were hoping to use for other members of her team.

Williams and her cohorts were annoyed; Ohanian was oblivious, having put on his headphones, ready to get to work.

“This big guy comes and he just plops down at the table next to us, and I’m like, ‘Huh! All these tables and he’s sitting here?'” Williams recalled to Vanity Fair in August 2017. Her business partner came up with a gambit, trying to shoo him away with the suggestion that a rat was present, but the tennis champ was more straightforward.

“We were trying to get him to move and get out of there,” she said. “He kind of refuses and he looks at us. And he’s like, ‘Is there really a rat here?'” So she switched tactics: “‘No, we just don’t want you sitting there. We’re going to use that table.'”

Reader, a meet-cute this was not.

But something about Ohanian won Williams over, perhaps his proclamation that in his native Brooklyn, he saw rats all the time. Williams then invited him to join them, which is when Ohanian got his first inkling that she was actually that Serena Williams, unmistakable tennis legend.

But, as he admitted to Vanity Fair, he had “never watched a match on television or in real life. It was literally the sport—even if ESPN was announcing tennis updates, I would just zone out. . . . I really had no respect for tennis.”

Which, was okay, because when Ohanian said he was at the tech conference to speak, an in-demand personality thanks to the creation of Reddit, Williams claimed to totally be familiar with the networking site, having perused it just that morning.

Though they didn’t seem to be setting the stage for love, someone on Williams’ team invited Ohanian to watch her match.

She won, but not up to her standards. So, as she prepped to take the court at the French Open, something made her ask Ohanian along for a re-do.

“Even if she blows me off and we don’t even hang out, I’m still going to have an amazing time in Paris, and I’ll have an even better story for all my childhood friends,” he explained to Vanity Fair of accepting her invite, “when I was like, ‘Yeah, I went to Paris for a weekend. I was supposed to meet up with Serena Williams, she blew me off, but I’ve got other friends there, and we had a great time.'”

Which, he did. Because Williams certainly did not blow him off, the pair enjoying their first date post-match, spending six hours wandering the streets of Paris, buying candies from La Ménagerie in the Jardin des Plantes and walking past some of the most famous tourist sites in the world. Casual.

While few would think to pair a world-class athlete and a tech giant, the two simply work, Williams’ more passionate nature providing the perfect complement to Ohanian’s steady calm.

Both equally committed to being the best at what they do, they’ve schooled themselves on each other’s interests. Williams now sits on the board of Silicon Valley-based SurveyMonkey while Ohanian has transformed himself into tennis’ most ardent fan.

“He’s extremely smart but not a know-it-all. He’s curious about what he doesn’t know,” Williams told Vogue in 2017. “Being a Jehovah’s Witness is important to me, but I’ve never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it. Alexis didn’t grow up going to any church, but he’s really receptive and even takes the lead. He puts my needs first.”

His thoughtfulness was very much on display with his December 2016 proposal at the same spot in Rome where they first met, a plastic rat on the table. But he raised the bar even further after Olympia’s arrival the following September.

“My understanding of showing up and being present for my wife was taken to a whole new level when Olympia was born,” he wrote in his Glamour essay. “And it was perhaps even more meaningful to be there for my wife and to adjust to this new life we created together—especially after all the complications she had during and after the birth.”

Because while Williams at least outwardly appears to be superwoman, even winning the Australian Open shortly after learning she was expecting, her labor was a terrifying endeavor in which she developed a series of blood clots, including one that traveled to her lung, creating a potentially fatal condition called a pulmonary embolism.

Ohanian enjoyed all 16 weeks of his parental leave, touting the benefits to all who would listen. And though he eventually stepped down from the board at Reddit, publicly urging them to fill his seat with a Black candidate, he then cofounded San Francisco-based venture firm Initialized Capital and served as one of the investors who worked to bring a National Women’s Soccer League team to L.A.

And in 2020, he founded another venture capital firm Seven Seven Six—all while raising their spirited daughter and now her little sister.

Through it all, he understood that his career was the more flexible one, even after Williams announced she was “evolving away from tennis”.

“Research shows that men are happy to have successful wives—until it interferes with their own work,” he wrote in Glamour. “A full 50 percent of men expect their career to take precedence over their wife’s. I know this is real, because I’ve seen the tweets and comments.”

But Ohanian’s brand of assurance comes from being able to handle his career, bring up his daughters and get his butt in the stands to cheer on his endlessly talented better half.

“I try to be the most supportive partner I can be and to have conversations with her about her career goals and what she can do to reach them,” he told Glamour. “Most of my talks with Serena about her career have come from a place of ‘What do you want to be doing?’ or ‘Where do you want to be?’ and that’s not only in sport but in life.”

Being there for her and their daughters no matter what might mean setting up shop in Melbourne or Paris or London or. And his girls are regulars in his office, Ohanian’s partners, as he put it, “used to seeing Olympia jump on camera.”

They just shouldn’t expect him to pick up a call on Sunday.

Those days are reserved for family time and his dad’s pancake recipe, edited to allow for Williams’ wheat allergy and Olympia’s love of raspberries.

“There are no phones, just conversation. And we’ll spend the day together lounging around the house, or playing hide-and-seek, or going for a swim in the pool,” he told Glamour of life at home. “Just being a family on those days means so much to both of us—more than a billboard, a video montage, or a whirlwind trip to Italy.”

Though those highlights are pretty sweet as well. See how the pair continue to ace married life.

Family Time

While celebrating seven years of marriage in November 2024, Serena thanked her husband for making every day special—including making an “average November day a costume party and making it special.”

Parents’ Night Out

The couple proved they enjoy lowkey date nights just as much as their extravagant trips in a sweet glimpse into a night out in September 2024.

Growing Family

Serena and Alexis welcomed their second baby girl, Adira, in August 2023.

Farm Day

Months before expanding their brood, Serena shared a sweet glimpse into some quality family time, writing on Instagram in Sept. 2022, “Family day on the farm.”

Italian Surprise
In July 2018, the tennis champion wanted Italian food for dinner so her husband flew her to Venice, Italy. Talk about a dream date!

Family Time
The adorable couple enjoyed a day out with their little one in summer 2018.

Picture Perfect Paris
In May 2018, Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams jetted off to Paris to visit the zoo where they had their first date—with an extremely adorable plus one, Olympia, who was born eight months prior.

London Calling
The power couple looked stunning as they celebrated the marriage of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in England in May 2018.

Regal Romance
Even though the duo was in England to celebrate the newly dubbed Duke and Duchess of Sussex, their gorgeous ensembles at the wedding and the reception had us thinking they were the royal couple for the night!

Selexis Day
Every year the couple has a special day called Selexis day where it’s all about them. In April 2018, Williams gave insight to their tradition, which—that year—was her turn to plan. She had her husband go on a scavenger hunt that ended at a venue with his childhood friends, a live band and karaoke. Oh, and they recreated their wedding cake and ate it together since they never had a piece at their actual wedding. Pretty fun, right?

Red Carpet Ready
The happy couple stole the show as they stepped out for the premiere of Williams’ HBO documentary series Being Serena in April 2018.

Billionaire Alexis Ohanian took a thinly-veiled swipe at ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith following his suggestion that Ohanian should consider divorcing his wife, Serena Williams, after her Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance.

The tennis icon caused quite the stir on social media when she joined Kendrick Lamar onstage during his performance at Super Bowl LIX in February.

She began crip walking to the diss track “Not Like Us”, which is about Drake, with whom she previously had a romantic relationship. Following the controversial Halftime Show, Smith criticised Williams for “trolling” her ex and hinted that he would divorce the tennis icon if they were married. However, several months later, it appears that Ohanian has had the last laugh.

JUST IN: How Coco Gauff Matches Serena Williams’ Hardcourt Record

During an appearance on ‘First Take’ this week, Ohanian advised Smith to stick to what he knows best.

“You hadn’t been married before, right? Cause I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies. And the reason I do that is because I build billion-dollar companies,” the Reddit founder retorted.

“So I generally try to stay in my lane in the advice department.”

In February, Smith questioned Williams’ decision to participate in a Drake diss track despite being married to Ohanian since 2017.

“You could say give her props,” he commented. “If I’m your husband, why are you up there trolling your ex?

“If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his a**, because clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye bye.”

His fellow analyst Ryan Clark quickly jumped to Williams’ defence, stating: “If you’re with Serena Williams you’re going to be a kept man anyway.”

Smith’s comments sparked a wave of online backlash, leading him to somewhat retract his statements. “Please go back and look at exactly what I said. I was talking overall from a man’s perspective – highlighting what most men would think,” he posted.

“I didn’t utter a single disrespectful word about Serena. No issues with folks getting upset of literal serious stuff one’s p***** about. This doesn’t qualify peeps. Come on. We were joking around on @FirstTake. Damn y’all! It’s not that serious.”

As to why Smith remains unmarried, the 57-year-old attributes his single status to his demanding work schedule. “I know that it’s hard, I know that it’s worn on some people as well,” he admitted.

“It is the reason why I’ve never been married, because I was on the road 200 days out of the year and the fact of the matter is at that time it was no way in hell I was going to be faithful.

“I knew that, so why the hell am I going to sit up there and violate my marital vows knowing ahead of time I ain’t going to honour them?”.

Serena Williams’ husband defends her with rare statement following backlash

Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, has spoken out in her defence following the backlash she faced last week. The tennis star went viral on social media after she shared a post on Instagram where she called out a New York City hotel for using “cotton as decoration”. “How do we feel about cotton as decoration? Personally, for me, it doesn’t feel great,” she wrote alongside a picture of herself with the cotton plant. “Feels like nail polish remover cotton,” she added. Many fans took to social media to share that Serena owned a cotton decoration herself.

The sculpture, titled Monument for a Promise, is owned by Serena and her husband. Created by the late artist Radcliffe Bailey, it depicts a donkey carrying a trunk atop a pile of cotton. Alexis first shared a photo of the sculpture in 2020, while Serena later revealed in a 2021 interview with Architectural Digest that the front room where it’s displayed is her “favorite part” of the house.

READ: How Serena Williams Causes Stir With Complaint About Hotel’s

Following the controversy online, Alexis took to X to respond to the comments made towards his wife. “Folks entitled to have their opinions, but to use owning Radcliffe Bailey’s Monument for a Promise as some kind of a ‘gotchya’ is so breathtakingly stupid – there is some very obvious symbolism of the cotton in the artwork,” he penned.

He followed up by posting a screenshot of an AI-generated analysis of Radcliffe Bailey’s work, noting that the cotton represents both the history of slavery and the promise of a “brighter tomorrow”.

Alexis took his support a step further by surprising his wife with an enormous floral arrangement featuring dozens of red roses in a sleek white vase. In a clip shared to her Instagram Stories on Monday, Serena showed off the romantic gesture, posting a video of the stunning bouquet along with two red heart emojis and her husband’s Instagram handle.

The 44-year-old and her husband Alexis tied the knot in 2017 and welcomed their first daughter, Alexia Olympis Ohanian Jr., in September that year. Five years later, the couple were surprised with a second bundle of joy as Serena gave birth to their youngest child, Adira River Ohanian, in August 2023.

Despite her successful career, Serena revealed in an interview with Byrdie in April 2024 that what brings her the most happiness is her kids. “I can’t say that a Wimbledon trophy holds a candle to volunteering at my kid’s school. “I also hope my daughters see how many different passions I have – from tennis to beauty – and learn that they can lead dynamic careers and lives across their many interests,” she said.

Alexis Ohanian says he’s perfectly fine with being known as ‘Serena Williams’ husband’, even though he’s made a name for himself and forged a successful career of his own.

Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and a self-made millionaire, was responding to fans on social media when he made the confession.

“I love how you don’t mind that they call you Serena Williams’ husband,” one follower wrote on Twitter.

READ: Serena Williams turns heads in Kim Kardashian’s NikeSKIMS sport

To which Ohanian replied: “I’ll be a self-made billionaire one day and most people will still know me as Serena’s husband (or Olympia’s dad) and that’s fine by me.”

Williams and Ohanian have been married since 2017.

Ohanian and Alexis are often spotted in Williams’ courtside box, most recently at the Australian Open where he was seen wearing a shirt reading ‘Greatest female athlete’ with ‘female’ crossed out.

Ohanian recently revealed how he didn’t like watching tennis before he met his wife.

“I hated tennis for a long time, until I met my wife and tried to learn it,” he told CNN in December.

“I am always a sports fan and when I watched a final closely I understood the privilege I had.

“Now I appreciate the world of tennis, I understand how the world of tennis is a difficult and intense world.

“In the world of technology we work very and really hard, but we have been naive since the work done by a professional tennis player, both physically and mentally, is absolutely on another level.”

Ohanian said he now considers it a privilege to be able to take his daughter to watch Williams in action.

“I sat in the front row to see everything Serena does, to understand her role in the world and I discovered how different she is from others,” he said.

“I know how much she has worked for everything, not only as a woman but also as a black woman.

“At the same time Olympia will never question all the great work her mother has done and one day I will explain it to her, but I want to make her understand that I do my part too.”

Serena Williams’ candid confession about marriage

Last month, Williams made the candid admission that her marriage with Ohanian is “not bliss” without work.

In a Q&A with Bumble, the tennis superstar opened up on marriage and matrimony.

When asked the most surprising thing she learned about marriage, the 39-year-old replied with a laugh: “Marriage is not bliss”.

“But it can be if you work at it,” she added.

The 23-time grand slam champion added during the Q&A that “a dealbreaker for me in a relationship is definitely loyalty. Well, not having it, that is.”

She also said: “I always knew I wanted kids.

“I never knew when but I always knew I wanted kids at some point.