Serena Williams Says Her Pregnancy Snapchat Was Accidental

Tennis champ Serena Williams' recent Snapchat pregnancy announcement grabbed headlines around the world, but on Tuesday, she admitted that, actually, she hadn't even intended to let the news slip when she did. Speaking at a TED conference in Vancouver on Tuesday, Serena Williams said her pregnancy announcement was a mistake, and that she'd accidentally shared the photo with the world without realizing it.

The number one ranked WTA athlete shared a photo of her growing bump on the social media app on April 19, according to Us Weekly, along with the caption "20 weeks." Soon after, she removed the image without further comment, but speculation quickly grew over whether Williams was indeed letting the world know that she was expecting a baby with her fiancé, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Eventually, Williams' rep confirmed that she was in fact pregnant, but when Williams sat down with Gayle King at the conference in Vancouver, she explained that when the photo went live, she'd actually only meant to snap a private photo to document her pregnancy and growing belly. Williams said,

I have this thing where I've been checking my status and taking pictures every week to see how far along I'm getting ... I’ve been so good about [keeping it private], but this was the one time it slipped.

After she unwittingly shared the photo far and wide, Williams said it took her a little while to even realize what had happened. And honestly, it sounds like a classic social media mishap:

On social media you press the wrong button and … 30 minutes later I missed 4 calls and I’m like, "That’s weird."

Presumably, she then figured out what had happened, and removed the photo from her feed, but clearly it wasn't soon enough. News of Williams' as-yet-unconfirmed pregnancy quickly spread across the internet, and social media promptly freaked out — not only was one of the greatest athletes in the world expecting a baby, but according to The New York Times, the fact that she was 20 weeks along in the photo also meant that she'd also actually been pregnant when she won her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

Williams' accidental pregnancy reveal didn't seem to be too much of a problem for the couple though. She told King that she "was only going to wait five or six more days" before telling the world anyway, and said that "it was a good moment" overall when the news came out the way it did.

And these days, it seems like that was only one "good moment" of many in the athlete's life. In addition to her Australian Open win, and her return to being ranked number one, Williams has opened up about her excitement over meeting her baby when she delivers in the fall, writing in a recent Instagram post that that pregnancy has taught her "the true meaning of serenity and peace." As for her relationship with her husband-to-be? Well it sounds like yet another beautiful blessing in her life. Williams explained,

I never felt pressured to get married, and I can’t say I’m the marrying type of person. I love my life, I love my freedom, and I love my career. I always felt I didn’t want anything to interfere with that ... But really, he’s very loving and he’s very kind. He’s very considerate.

Serena Williams may not have intended to spill the beans about her pregnancy with an accidental Snapchat selfie, but it definitely sounds like it worked out in the end. And while tennis fans might not be thrilled to know that Williams won't be back on the court until at least 2018, according to The New York Times, it at least seems like she won't be shying away from keeping them posted with life updates on social media while she's away.