Serena Williams is finally sharing the truth about her drastic weight change.
The tennis legend’s Instagram posts over the last few weeks have left her fanbase in a huff due to her significant weight loss. Throughout her career, she has earned recognition and praise for her voluptuous figure. But, she caused quite the stir in her comment section when people started to notice it disappearing. During her Thursday, Aug.21, appearance on The Today Show, Williams came clean about her new and slim body. She revealed she lost 31 pounds after taking weight loss medication.
After having two daughters, Alexis Ohanian Jr. and Adira Ohanian, with her husband Alexis Ohananian, Williams said it was a struggle to get herself back to a healthy weight.
“I was never able to be at a healthy weight that I could be at. Whether it was my joints or blood sugar levels, it was just always something that I suffered with. And a lot of women actually go through this.”
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The 23-time Grand Slam singles champ partnered with a telehealth company called Ro. It is through this company that she gets prescribed Zepbound, a GLP-1 medication.
Williams admitted to initially being against using GLP-1 because she fell victim to the stigma. There is a belief that taking these medications to lose weight is a shortcut to transforming one’s body. Some people believe it’s a way to avoid the hard work of eating healthily and exercising. But Williams says that is not the case.
“I literally tried everything. I mean running, walking, biking, stair climber,” she said. “Even I felt like, ‘Ok, I don’t want to do this because it is a shortcut. It’s like a quick way out.’ But it actually isn’t.”
Williams changed her perspective about using it by looking at it like a sport. She pictured her weight as an opponent that she couldn’t defeat no matter what she tried.
“So eventually, I saw my friends using it. I saw a lot of people on it. I tried it and it actually worked.”
In her exclusive interview with People, she said, “I feel great. I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”
But Williams also emphasizes that she never saw her weight as a problem visually. It was more about the pain she was enduring physically.
She said, “I always felt comfortable at any size, whether I was a lot heavier or not. I do feel like my body didn’t like me at that weight. I had pain in my joints and pain in different areas just because of the extra weight that I’m not used to carrying since I had children.”
The 43-year-old added, “Women often experience judgment about their bodies at any size, and I’m no stranger to that. So I feel like you should love yourself at any size and any look.”
There are other popular medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro, which were created to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes. However, many celebrities have used it to slim down.
People like Oprah Winfrey, Sherri Shepherd, and Kandi Burruss have taken GLP-1 medication. Additionally, Charles Barkley became a brand ambassador for Ro in April.
Williams’ husband is an investor in Ro and serves on its board.
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