Newly engaged tennis superstar, Serena Williams, was spotted out and about over the weekend showing off her man and and her rather modest engagement band.
The couple, who have been dating for over a year now, decided to keep their relationship as low profile as possible, probably to avoid unwanted attention – a lesson experience must have taught Serena, who has had to deal with numerous tabloid gossip, especially on her relationships.
In this article, we take a quick journey through her past relationships: the men she had dated and how long their romance lasted.
Serena Williams: Her relationship timeline
The first high profile romance rumours she was involved in was back in 2002 with American pro football player, Keyshawn Johnson, who was almost 10 years her senior.
The pair always claimed they were just friends, as Johnson was in the middle of a divorce at that time, but no one could deny they had some serious chemistry going on between them.
In 2004, Serena began dating Rush Hour director Brett Ratner, who was almost 12 years her senior.
The relationship lasted for two years, ending abruptly with Serena claiming Brett almost never had her time and was barely around throughout the 2-year period.
In 2007, Serena began dating actor, Jackie Long, who later dumped her with those three dreadful words every woman hates to hear from her man: ‘I need space.’
Serena took to her blog to detail how the incident had left her heartbroken and devastated (although she never mentioned his name) as he’d become a major part of her life.
The tennis star began dating rapper Common in 2008, a relationship which lasted for two years and was later rumoured to have continued years later.
The relationship was probably the most involved she’d ever been in as the pair were constantly photographed together at events and outings.
Thereafter, she started dating NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire, who was renowned for his playboy status.
The romance between the two athletes didn’t last more than a couple of months however, with both of them eventually moving on without hard feelings.
Shortly after, she was in the arms of fellow tennis star Grigor Dimitrov, who she was 10 years older than.
The romance didn’t go so well as the young Bulgarian moved on to be with her biggest rival, Maria Sharapova, adding more fuel to their already frosty relationship.
Right after the disastrous end to her romance with Dimitrov, Serena was a happy woman again, thanks this time to her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who went on to give her career a positive turn.
Even though the affair has long since fizzled out, the two have maintained a professional relationship and they have continued to make numerous successes together.
Up next was Drake. All through last year, rumours of a romance trailed them, despite their claims there was nothing more than friendship between them.
Drake, however, did not help matters as he constantly posted his support for the tennis superstar on social media, claiming he had fallen in love with tennis because of her.
It’s safe to say the Drake rumours were indeed nothing but rumours, as Williams was dating her now fiancee Alexis Ohanian around that time.
Hopefully Serena’s relationship has finally landed in a safe harbour with Alexis.