Alexis Ohanian is such a sweet, devoted dad, and his new interview with People shows just how much thought and effort he puts into parenting the daughter he shares with Serena Williams — and preparing for their second child’s arrival later this year.
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The Reddit co-founder opened up about the special way he shows 4-year-old Olympia that he’s “thinking about her every day” since she’s become more proficient in reading and writing. “It’s been one of the best parts of her learning to read, that I get to surprise and delight her with some fun notes,” Ohanian shared. “Seeing her develop is so rewarding. You go from stringing together some letters, then you start doing some phonics, and it’s been really awesome seeing her just continue to level up,” he gushed. “The notes get more fun too because I can write more and make it a little bit more interesting.”
The tech entrepreneur added, “I want her to really feel, not just to know, but to really feel that in some way I’m thinking about her every day, and these are fun little surprises that she seems to enjoy.” Anyone else’s eyes feeling quite misty? So, so sweet.
Ohanian also shared that the duo loves having “daddy-daughter drawing classes” and following YouTube tutorials to learn how to draw different things. “I do think she’s a mix of both creative and athletic right now,” the doting dad mused, adding, “Mini golf was her thing a year or so ago, and then we got her proper golfing lessons, and she’s loved it. On the creative side, she loves to dance. I guess dance is a little bit of both. Maybe that’s where she’ll land — somewhere in the creative end and athletic,” he speculated.
Overall, he and Williams simply want Olympia to pursue anything she’s interested in and have a good time doing it. “Like any parent, we just want her to have fun, and we’re fortunate enough to be able to expose her to anything she could be interested in,” he said. “It’s already been an interesting journey, seeing the stuff she’s into. We don’t want to limit that.”
In addition to encouraging their daughter to try anything she’d like, Ohanian said he “[challenges] her to bring a big ‘why’ question every day to dinner.” He explained, “She can ask, and if I don’t know the answer, we just look it up together, and we learn together. It’s fun for me.” Ohanian added, “This really got fun in the last year and a half because of those parts of her development that we’ve unlocked.”
The Rock, Dwyane Wade, and Ryan Reynolds better watch out, because Alexis Ohanian just might be creeping up to steal their Ultimate Girl Dad crowns!
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Big Sis Olympia
Image Credit: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images. Pivoting to talk about Baby No. 2, Ohanian shared that “Olympia’s fired up” about becoming a big sister. “No one’s more excited than her,” he said. “She’s been wanting this. She’s been praying and asking about this for quite some time, so she’s very ready.”
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Prepping for Another Little One
Image Credit: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images. The soon-to-be dad of two said that he and Williams feel as prepared as they can be with “everything basically good to go,” although he’s a bit foggy on the newborn days.
“I think I’ve definitely forgotten what it’s like to have a new one around, so it might be a rude awakening, maybe literally,” he laughed, adding, “But right now, we’re excited.”
Ohanian continued, “We’re not first-time parents anymore. I feel more confident about having a newborn, all of those things that I just had zero confidence about with Olympia because I’d never even been around babies at that point in my life,” he explained.
“We’re also obviously taking every precaution and doing everything we can to make sure everything goes smoothly for Serena,” the loving husband added. Brownie points for putting the focus on mom just as much as baby!
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Naming Baby No. 2
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/WWD via Getty Images. “After Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., Serena told me we cannot name the next kid Alexis, so I’m out of ideas,” the 40-year-old joked when asked about Baby No. 2’s name.
“Serena Williams Ohanian Jr., I guess it wouldn’t be a junior, or maybe it could be. I don’t know the rules — but we already broke the rules anyway,” he reflected. “But yes, we’ve got some names bopping around if it’s a girl. I used ChatGPT to come up with some ideas too, so we’ll see where we go.” Spoken like a true tech head.
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Announcing the Happy News
Image Credit: Arturo Holmes/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue. Williams and Ohanian announced their baby news just before attending the 2023 Met Gala, where the tennis legend debuted her bump on the iconic museum steps.
The Grand Slam winner took to Instagram to share a carousel of photos of her and her husband in their gala attire, writing, “Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the 3 of us to the Met Gala.”
Ohanian followed suit with his own post captioned, “Mama (@serenawilliams) & Papa love this parenting-thing, so we’re back at it ? and @olympiaohanian is gonna be the best Big Sister—she’s been asking & praying for this for a minute.”
We’re already looking forward to all of the sweet sibling content we know Olympia will be cranking out on her Instagram page after her baby sister or brother arrives — it’s only a matter of time!
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