The relationship between tennis legend Serena Williams and tech founder Alexis Ohanian didn't start with love at first sight when they tied the knot in 2015.
Williams and Ohanian, who have been married for five years, didn't exactly hit it off when they first met. In fact, it was more like annoyance at first sight.
During a recent interview with Drew Barrymore, Williams confessed that she initially tried to get rid of her now-husband during their initial encounter.
The 41-year-old was at the Cavalieri Hotel in Rome with a friend when a stranger, who turned out to be Ohanian, intruded on their personal space.
"This guy shows up and the whole place is empty. And this guy, like really tall, he comes with his computer and he plops down right next to us. And he opens his computer and he starts typing," she explained. "And I'm just like, 'Why?' I was so angry, I was like, 'Why is this guy here?'"
Williams and her friend attempted to scare Ohanian off by claiming they saw a rat on the floor, but he didn't flinch.
“Alexis looks and doesn’t flinch. And I’m like, ‘You’re not afraid of rats?' And he’s like, 'Um no, I’m from Brooklyn. But is there even really a rat there?' I guess he always knew I was full of stuff," recalled the tennis pro.
After some conversation, Williams learned about Ohanian's profession, but she had never heard of Reddit before.
"So I didn't know what Reddit was and then we’re like, 'Oh we love that!' And he's like, 'Oh, have you seen it? What do you like?' And I was like, 'Uhh....'"
Before leaving for a tennis match, Williams asked Ohanian for his phone number.
After the match, a tall man got into the car with her, and assuming he was a security guard, Williams never actually looked over. She later asked her agent why she didn't inform her she needed security, assuming she had a stalker.
The tennis pro's agent then revealed the man was Ohanian, who had been invited to the match by Williams' agent without her knowledge. After meeting again, they kept in touch for a while before things turned romantic.
“It really wasn’t anything for a long time 'cause we were just texting,” she explained.
Eventually, Williams accidentally invited Ohanian to Paris to watch her play in a match. She had just played in another match and semi-jokingly suggested he needed to see her play on a good day.
In 2017, the couple got married and welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.