Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian battling Lyme disease

Alexis Ohanian had been doing routine health scans and tests before making the shock discovery that he has lyme disease while furtherly adding that he did not have any of the symptoms

Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Lyme disease. He was told by doctors after a routine health checkup while having no symptoms.

The 41-year-old Reddit co-founder shared his health update on social media, explaining that the diagnosis was made after he underwent a series of medical procedures – something he does regularly.

Writing on X, Ohanian said: “Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have Lyme disease. Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat.” He added: “Good cholesterol is too low. Bad cholesterol is just OK. Gotta work on that. On the plus-side: 822 ng/dL total + 162 ng/dL free testosterone.”

Ohanian had revealed that his family do have history of having the disease, but had been shocked to learn about the diagnosis while left confused as to how he contracted it.

He shared: “I’ve got a loved one who had it a few years back, showed tons symptoms etc and just couldn’t figure it out until they tested him for it and then found it (treated it successfully, too). I spend so little time in the wilderness/northeast this was quite a surprise.”

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is contracted by humans after being bitten by a tick – and is the most common tick-borne illness in the Western world.


Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian have been married for seven years

According to the CDC, 75% of people who contract Lyme disease after being bitten will develop a large rash at the site of the bite – which can develop anywhere between 3 and 30 days afterward.

Other symptoms include fever, chills, headache, fatigue and muscle or joint aches – which can occur right after the bite, with these developing even a rash does not form. Multiple reports suggest that a small minority of people may not have any symptoms at all, despite carrying the disease.

Ohanian and Williams have been married for seven years, having two daughters together while residing in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ohanian is the founder of venture capital fund Initialized Capital, as well as Reddit, the latter of which he took a step away from in 2018 to focus on other projects while leaving it in the hands of its fellow co-founders.