Serena Williams explains how she ended up engaged to a ‘nerdy’ Reddit co-founder

Ryan Lash / TED

Serena Williams surprised the world when she recently announced her engagement to Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of social news site Reddit. As she explained at the TED 2017 conference during an onstage interview with CBS television host Gayle King, no one was more surprised than her.

During the interview, King joked that she never would have expected Williams to end up with “a nerdy geek. “I wouldn’t either,” Williams replied, to audience laughter.

“I never felt pressured to get married, and I can’t say I’m the marrying type of person,” she said. “I love my life, I love my freedom, and I love my career. I always felt I didn’t want anything to interfere with that.”

When asked how she knew Ohanian was “the one,” Williams laughed. “I’m…not going to say that [out loud]. But really, he’s very loving and he’s very kind. He’s very considerate.”

Williams also revealed that the initial pregnancy photo she posted on Snapchat was put up accidentally. “On social media, you press the wrong button and… 30 minutes later I missed 4 calls and I’m like, ‘That’s weird,” she said. “But it was a good moment. I was only going to wait 5 or 6 more days [to share].”

The 36 year-old Williams reiterated that she plans to return to tennis in top form after she has her baby. “Roger Federer is older than me and he’s still winning everything,” she said.