Serena Williams’ husband is a proud papa in every sense of the word. Since the day he became a father to Olympia, to this day, he has considered fatherhood, the biggest joy of his life. Recently, Alexis Ohanian came forward to describe the precious moment when her first daughter was brought into this world. In addition, at the same time, he revealed his range of emotions when he first held Olympia, around six years ago.

He shared his side of the story—from the moment he became a father for the first time—for the first time in a recent edition of his podcast, ‘Business Dad.’ He stated, “I remember the first time I held Olympia, who was my firstborn. And it just, I don’t know how to describe it. It was an overwhelming feeling of emotions, of pride, of joy, of of all that literally every emotion I could have imagined feeling I felt in a singular moment.” 

Notably, Serena Williams has always been open about her intense love for her daughter and the obstacles she encountered during her pregnancy and as a mother. The tennis player had an extremely harrowing experience of giving birth to Olympia; her heart rate dropped so low that emergency Caesarean surgery was required to save her and her daughter’s life. Ohanian has been vocal about his acceptance of fatherhood at the same time.

Further, he added, “And it’s a wild thing. And I’ve talked to dads about this, and it feels just so much more real that first moment when you’re holding your kid, you know, talk me through that. First. I love the fact that you were just so open in an interview talking about that because again, I think it’s something not enough men talk about and we should normalize.”

Not only that, earlier this year, Ohanian said the one thing that the “most successful” CEOs have always told him is they wish they had spent more time with their children. The Reddit co-founder expressed his deep realization about fatherhood from a heartfelt perspective, saying that until a person holds their legacy in their arms for the first time, they can never completely predict the kind of father they will become.

He wrote, on X, “You don’t know what kind of dad you’re gonna be until the big day comes, but then it hits you the moment you hold your legacy for the first time. No matter what career accolades I achieve, fatherhood will be the best thing I ever do.” Reassuring fellow dads that they can succeed in their careers and yet be active, involved fathers, Ohanian urged them to pursue harmony rather than balance. On the other hand, with the positivity of fatherhood, he also encouraged the concept of having paternity leave for the newborn as a responsibility.

Serena Williams’ husband talks about taking paternity leaves 

Ohanian highlights the value of parental leave in helping people get used to their new role as parents. He draws attention to the copious research that shows parental leave has major advantages for parents and children. The chance to take parental leave helped the newlyweds strengthen their relationship with their child and work through the difficulties of becoming first-time parents as a team.

He stated, “When my wife, Serena Williams, gave birth to our daughter Olympia in 2017, I took 16 weeks of paid paternity leave — which was the policy at Reddit, the company I co-founded and led at the time. Before Olympia was born, I had never thought much about paternity leave and, to be honest, Reddit’s company policy was not my idea.” 

The chance to take parental leave helped the newlyweds strengthen their relationship with their child and work through the difficulties of becoming first-time parents as a team. What are your thoughts on the same? Do let us know in the comment section below.