"It was two hours of interrogation... Nothing was off limits" - When Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian recalled their unconventional first date

Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian's first date was far from conventional, as she refused to meet with the Reddit co-founder alone. Ohanian later recalled facing an intense round of questioning during the evening.

Williams first met Ohanian at a hotel in Rome during her campaign at the 2015 Italian Open. Ohanian would go on to propose at that same location a year later. The former World No. 1 then invited him to watch her compete at the French Open and acquiesced to his request for a dinner date in Paris.

In the 2024 ESPN docuseries 'In the Arena: Serena Williams,' Alexis Ohanian revealed that the tennis star was adamant about bringing her agent and her assistant along to their first date. Ohanian had no objections despite the unusual request, as he understood that she might want some backup.

"Eventually she came around. I was like, 'Look, let me take you out to dinner,' and she's like, 'OK, but I'm going to bring my agent and my assistant.' And I thought, 'Alright, this is some Hollywood stuff, fine. You don't know who I am. I'm a big dude. I might be nuts, so you bring backup,'" Ohanian said.

Once at the date, Ohanian found himself in the hot seat. He revealed that Williams, her agent, and her assistant subjected him to two hours of "interrogation," asking about his marital status and whether he had any children, among other things.

"So, I showed up for the interrogation dinner. It was like an interview panel, because it was the three of them -- Serena, her assistant, her agent -- and then me on the other side of the table, and they just bombarded me with questions. It was like two hours of interrogation and questions. Do I have kids? Am I married? Nothing was off limits," he added.

Despite being inundated with questions, Alexis Ohanian still managed to win Serena Williams and her agent over with his charming conversation.

"That's the way to my heart" - Serena Williams on her and husband Alexis Ohanian's conversation during their first date

Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams - Source: Getty

Serena Williams also shared her perspective on the date, disclosing that Alexis Ohanian had discovered the "way to her heart" with his interest in Marvel and Iron Man. Her agent Jill Smoller was also delighted that the former World No. 1 and Ohanian had found common ground.

"During dinner, he started talking about Iron Man and stuff, and Marvel, and that's the way to my heart," Serena Williams said.

Having "passed the test," Ohanian disclosed that he put his foot down and asked Williams to spend the day with him in Paris by herself.

"And I guess I passed the test so that the next day I texted her, and I was like, 'Hey, look, last night was fun, but I'm going to pick you up, and we're going to spend the day together in Paris, and it's just going to be us,'" Ohanian said.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian eventually got married in November 2017, two months after the 23-time Grand Slam champion gave birth to their firstborn daughter Olympia. The couple then welcomed their second daughter Adira River in 2023.