Serena Williams is opening up about struggling with mommy guilt in an intimate post she shared on Instagram. The tennis champion, 36, shared a photo of herself at the top of a cliff during a sunset on Monday. In the post, Williams, who has one child — 11-month-old daughter Alexis Olympia — gave a glimpse into her emotions surrounding her experience in motherhood.
“Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk,” Williams wrote in the caption. “Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom.”
Serena and Alexis daughter always shows her cooking skills
Williams wrote she had “read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with.”
“I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal,” she continued.
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Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom. I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal. It’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby. We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be. However, that means although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes. I’m here to say: if you are having a rough day or week–it’s ok–I am, too!!! There’s always tomm!
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“It’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby. We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be,” Williams wrote. “However, that means although I have been with her every day of my life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be.”
“Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art,” she continued. “You are the true heroes.”
Williams added, “I’m here to say: if you are having a rough day or week — it’s ok — I am, too!!! There’s always tomm!”
This is not the first time Williams has been open about her struggles intense emotions following the birth of her daughter.
In July, Williams was in the middle of training for Wimbledon when her daughter took her first steps.
The tennis star revealed the news on Twitter, writing, “She took her first steps… I was training and missed it” adding that she “cried” after learning the news.
During a news conference in London that same month, Williams revealed she had stopped nursing her daughter after six months.
After having a goal to stop breastfeeding in January, the mother of one noted, “Then January became March. March became April, and I was still breastfeeding. And for me, it was really important to make it to three months, and then it was important to make it to four months. And then I was like, ‘Okay, I can do six months.’”
Williams said she “felt good about” making it to six months of nursing, and after that, it was more about “emotionally letting go” of the experience.
“I literally sat Olympia in my arms and I talked to her and we prayed about it,” she said. “And I told her, ‘Look, I’m gonna stop. Mommy has to do this.’ I cried a little bit — not as much as I thought I [would]. And she was fine.”
