Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian shares his feelings on $10 million Reddit windfall yielding financial security amid his mother's cancer battle

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, has opened up about how selling Reddit provided him with the necessary financial security during his mother Anke's battle with cancer. Ohanian also shed light on the valuable life lessons he learned from the ordeal.

Ohanian co-founded Reddit with his college roommate Steve Huffman in 2005, and just over a year later, they sold the platform to Conde Nast for a whopping $10 million. The 41-year-old recently reflected on how he dealt with the massive windfall, as it followed on the heels of his mother Anke being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Alexis Ohanian recalled the surreal feeling of earning more money in less than two years than his parents had made in their entire lives. Despite being overwhelmed by the wealth, the Reddit co-founder explained that it gave him the financial security to ensure that his mother received the best possible care as she began her chemotherapy treatments.

"I sold Reddit in 2006. To make more money for 16 months worth of work than my parents would make their entire working lives was already kind of crazy. It felt like I'd gotten away with something," Ohanian said.

"At this point, my mom had been diagnosed, was already starting her treatments, chemo and everything else. It did give me some of the financial security to be able to spend that time and also just get her the best possible care," he added.

Serena Williams' husband emphasized that the experience taught him the importance of prioritizing his relationships with his loved ones over financial success.

Ohanian also credited his mother for keeping him grounded during that period, highlighting that it allowed him to avoid some of the pitfalls his peers endured when they found wealth.

"But it was a very surreal feeling and the best thing that came out of it for me was, being at such a young age, blessed with this windfall and knowing what I should be prioritizing. It is about people and it is about experiences with those people," Serena Williams' husband said.

"I feel like I've avoided a lot of the pain that peers of mine encountered when they found wealth and didn't really have any kind of grounding for it. Frankly, that's probably the best gift she ever could've given me," he added.

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian on undergoing surgery: "My mom had breast cancer around this age... I wasn't gonna take any chances"

Serena Williams with her husband Alexis Ohanian (Source: Getty)

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, recently suffered a health scare and underwent surgery to remove "suspicious nodules" on his thyroid that were likely to become cancerous.

Given that his mother Anke developed breast cancer at the same age and eventually passed away due to brain cancer, the 41-year-old explained that he decided not to take any risks and chose to go under the knife.

"The nodules were getting bigger & the latest biopsy revealed they'd very likely turn cancerous. My mom had breast cancer around this age (41) and then ultimately died from brain cancer a decade or so later. I hate cancer. I wasn't gonna take any chances," Ohanian said.

"The surgery was smooth and I'm extra grateful this Thanksgiving because I got the call this morning that my now-removed-half-of-thyroid was indeed full of some gnarly nodules that were very likely to become cancerous," he added.

Alexis Ohanian also joked about entrusting his and Serena Williams' seven-year-old daughter Olympia with creating an interesting story about the scar left on his neck from the surgery.