Serena Williams has had the internet buzzing for months since her unrecognizable appearance at Paris Fashion Week in March. People also criticized the tennis icon for sharing her weight loss journey after giving birth to her second daughter, Adira, last August.
Now, she and her husband are under scrutiny following recent rumors about a divorce.
Williams and the Reddit co-founder first met in Rome over breakfast in 2015, the same year he attended the U.S. Open, in which she competed and won. They were engaged in 2016 and married by November 2017, two months after their first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., was born.
Gossip blogs and media outlets have run wild with salacious headlines suggesting things were bad between the two. In an attempt to shut down the rumors, Alexis posted a photo of him and his brown beauty, while still wearing his gold wedding band.
As Rickey Smiley and Gary With Da Tea Hayes discussed the rumors during the July 8th radio show, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” more revelations came to light.
Gary noted that Serena attended the annual Met Gala celebration in May solo for the first time since the couple made their debut in 2017. He also mentioned that Serena did not share a touching Father’s Day tribute to Alexis online, as she’s done in previous years.
The day before, on June 15, she shared a video of her getting a procedure on her stomach and the day after she shared stunning images of her, sister Venus Williams and mom Oracene, in Europe. Despite fans’ speculation, Alexis was very much present during the trip as he was seen escorting Williams into a car.
But what wasn’t present was her wedding ring.
“I mean she is trying to lose weight so maybe the ring had gotten too small,” wrote one person in the comment section. Another said, “She just had it on at essencefest.”
Williams attended the annual music festival in New Orleans to discuss her latest business venture, WYN Beauty on the weekend of the fourth of July, where she was honored as the Investor of the Year.
Rickey noted that Serena has mainly been spotted out with herself or friends mostly over the last few weeks. One fan who disagreed said, “Serena, Alexis and their daughter Olympia were just posing in pics and video together with LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson in New Orleans.”
While in New Orleans, the Williams-Ohanian family ran into the 2023 NCAA championship winner.
This is why women’s sports matter. Flau’jae Johnson shares a touching moment with Olympia Ohanian, daughter of Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian, by giving her a signed NIL jersey.
— LSU NIL Store (@LSUNILStore) July 8, 2024
Check out more from Flau'jae ➡️ https://t.co/8m6svbTs3M pic.twitter.com/LJlIQyNPoC
Still Williams received hate from racist fans of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker after criticizing him during her hosting gig at the ESPY Awards on July 11.
“Serena Williams said this after praising women’s sports and criticizing Harrison Butker. The broken home is strong with the woke. Divorce is imminent with her rich white husband,” one said on X.
“Then she made fun of Caitlin Clark fans for being white The broken home is strong with Serena Williams. I sense a divorce coming soon,” wrote another.
Three days after Smiley’s chat, Williams’ ring seemingly reappeared on her finger according to red carpet photos at the event with her husband and oldest daughter. During the opening of the ceremony, Williams mentioned that NCAA career-scoring leader Caitlin Clark was nominated for three awards after “an amazing year.”
She then shocked the audience, as she continued, “You are the Larry Bird in that you are an amazing player, you have ties to Indiana, and white people are really crazy about you.”
It’s clear fans took issue with her stating the obvious, which has been discussed on social media for weeks since Clark’s WNBA debut in May.