HBO’s docu-series, Being Serena, has been serving up several gems about the G.O.A.T. and this week’s episode revealed the real reason why Serena Williams was forced to walk down the aisle without her father, Richard Williams, on her wedding day.
“He was in New Orleans, he had a suit, and I know he was really excited,” she told VOGUE. “But then he wrote me and said: ‘Serena, I don’t want you to be mad at me, but I just can’t walk you down the aisle. I’m not myself anymore. I’m just too nervous.’”
Most brides would have flipped all the way out but Williams responded with nothing but love and grace.
“Daddy it’s okay, if you don’t want to come to the wedding at all, that’s okay too,” she responded via text message. “I’m not going to be upset with you about it, so I don’t want you to be upset about it.”
While viewers were likely shocked by the revelation that Serena’s dad left her hanging on her big day, the superstar athlete took it all in stride and managed to put her dad’s wishes before her own.
“Maybe a lot of daughters wouldn’t react the same way, but I know the struggles he’s had these last few years. His health is better now, but I know he still doesn’t feel like himself, doesn’t feel like he’s perfect. And if he doesn’t want to be up there in front of a lot of people, I completely understand,” she said in the documentary. (Richard Williams suffered a stroke in 2016 and still has some health issues as a result.)
“Look, when we first came on the scene, there were a lot of people who didn’t get him. I don’t think a lot of them wanted to get him. I don’t think a lot of [them] could have anyway. Our family knows what we have. We just want each other to be happy. That’s what matters. I don’t think anything could ever change that.”
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