Tennis legend. Serial entrepreneur. Venture capitalist. Serena Williams holds many titles, but since giving birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., in 2017, her favorite is “Mom.”
In August 2023, Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, welcomed a second daughter to the fold, Adira River. “I have to say I am obsessed with her,” Williams gushed during an interview on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” on April 4 (per People magazine). “Oh my gosh, she’s so yummy. She’s like the best, I love her.”
The founder of the newly launched Wyn Beauty also discussed the transition from parenting one child to two, noting: “Two is different, but I haven’t experienced it yet because they’re six years apart. So Olympia is in school most of the day, and I get to hang out with the baby most of the day. And then when Olympia is home, I get to hang out with her.”
Williams is apparently following sage advice she received ahead of welcoming a second child.
“Someone gave me the best advice; they said, ‘Spend more time with the oldest cause they’ll remember,'” she recalled. “Isn’t that the best advice? But I do. Because the little one won’t remember. So whenever Olympia’s home, I’m with her.”
As for the dynamics between her two daughters, Williams says it happily reflects her own upbringing, growing up the youngest of five sisters.
“That’s one thing Olympia would always say — I want a sister,” she told hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “So I was so happy when we had the opportunity to have another little girl — I was like, ‘Yes!’ … I’m so used to girls.”
The tennis prodigy-turned-icon is also getting used to life after the sport, a pivot that allows her to be a hands-on parent, regardless of the season.
“I love sports and being active,” said Williams in a recent interview with Byrdie magazine, where she also discussed how motherhood has changed both her perspectives on beauty and achievement. “Leaving something I was still good at to be a mom was such a difficult decision. But I wanted another kid, so I had to do that. Now it’s about finding balance and doing other things I’ve always loved.”
As Williams told the outlet, that balance has included some new wins. “I can’t say that a Wimbledon trophy holds a candle to volunteering at my kid’s school.”
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