Serena Williams Tells Oprah Why She Decided to Try GLP-1s

What this episode is about

Serena Williams discusses her ongoing struggle with weight management following the births of her daughters and reveals her success with GLP-1 medication, which helped her lose 31 pounds. She emphasizes the personal nature of body weight challenges and highlights her collaboration with the telehealth company Row to share her transformative experience.

Key takeaways

• Even the GOAT, Serena Williams, struggles with weight—proving it's not just about workouts and diets.
• Biology trumps willpower: after childbirth, even elite athletes face weight challenges beyond their control.
• Serena's journey highlights the unseen battle many face; weight isn't always a reflection of effort.
• GLP-1 medications show potential in weight management, prompting shifts in traditional fitness narratives.
• Serena's candidness about weight loss reveals a universal truth: our bodies often resist change, regardless of status.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Oprah Winfrey (Guest) · 5 min speaking
• Serena Williams (Guest) · 7 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Serena Williams
2. 3:00 – 6:00: GLP-1, Serena Williams, Row
3. 9:00 – 11:44: Serena Williams, Row

Notable quotes from "Serena Williams Tells Oprah Why She Decided to Try GLP-1s"

• Serena Williams says her struggle with weight began after giving birth to her two daughters. In August 2025, Serena announced that she lost 31 pounds on a GOP1 medication and…

  about Serena Williams · at 0:46

• Think everyone's personal body is different and like the food noise like all the benefits that the GLP1s can have. I just feel like for me I just felt totally different and I'm…

  about GLP-1 · at 1:49

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Serena Williams — Person · Main guest / primary subject of discussion · 5 mentions · first at 0:07
  Central figure used to illustrate postpartum/age-related weight changes and her experience using GLP-1 medication; discussed as partnering with Ro to share her story.

Concepts & topics

• GLP-1 — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 4:01
  Central theme of the episode, discussing the benefits and effects of GLP1 medications for weight loss and health improvements

Sponsors

• Row — Company · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 3:46
  Telehealth company partnering with Serena Williams to share her story about weight loss and GLP1 medications
  Two daughters. In August 2025, Serena announced that she lost 31 pounds on a GOP1 medication and is now partnering with the teley health company Row to share her story.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 This is what I know for sure. Uh that some people, no matter what you do, you can't lose the excess weight. We've watched Serena Williams win championships after championships. You all know she is the GOAT, the greatest of all times. She is an elite world class athlete, working out every single day, eating healthy food. Even she could not win the battle until now. Come on out here, Serena Williams.

0:42 23time Grand Slam champion, the goat Serena Williams says her struggle with weight began after giving birth to her two daughters. In August 2025, Serena announced that she lost 31 pounds on a GOP1 medication and is now partnering with the teley health company Row to share her story.

1:03 Well, this is the thing. When you came out for row Yeah. I went, "Holy Lord Jesus and all your disciples." I felt that that was a siminal moment and I was like so proud of you because I knew that you were going to get a whole lot of oh how dare you and what do you mean and what was that like for you that the the day that you came out for row?

1:28 Um I just felt good you know first of all you know me I don't listen to the noise. I'm like you didn't line there's a very long line. go all the way to the back and you're going to be a long time before I hear that complaint. But it made so much sense cuz as you were saying, I'm an elite athlete and I loved hearing what you were talking about cuz all that stuff makes so much sense and I think everyone's personal body is different and like the food noise like all the benefits that the GLP1s can have. I just feel like for me I just felt totally different and I'm literally like my last my last match at the Open I literally was working 8 hours a day in the gym training and I never could lose an ounce. In fact, I feel like I may have even gained weight.

2:14 Wow. And it was incredible how my body looked even though I was putting in hours and I'm talking we're in the summer in Florida putting in hours and hours and hours of training and I was eating like

2:26 that's when I said Lord Jesus you know that if Serena Williams who's working out eight hours a day

2:34 literally cannot lose weight something's up the biology. I think it's biology and I think also when you have kids maybe that biology changes. You would have to tell me but I feel like a little of that change and also as you age a little of it changes and then you just learn so much about the GLP1s and how much they're affecting your body with the different proteins that it's doing and

2:57 Yeah. And it's just So it did change for you after having your first child. I Yeah, absolutely. It did change for me. Yeah. I couldn't lose weight the way I used to. Yeah.

3:06 And it was actually virtually impossible. Yeah. Yeah. with eight hours. I mean, I I can't even imagine. And your workouts, we've seen your workouts.

3:14 Yes, my workouts are insane. A professional athlete. I was actually playing a professional sport.

3:19 Yes. So, I felt Drop the mic, y'all. That's it. I felt it so important to tell my story cuz I felt like a lot of people could relate to that.

3:28 And I loved when you shared your story because for the very reason, you are the most amazing athlete and yet of all time.

3:36 Of all time. Of all times. But I couldn't beat that weight. Couldn't beat the weight. The one opponent I could not defeat the weight.

3:46 Yes. So it was so exciting to work with Ro. And then they really wanted with them. They really wanted to tell a story. They didn't just want to just single out like me. They really wanted to tell a story about so many people were dealing with what I was dealing with. And

4:01 I read that you were initially skeptical of the GLP1. Absolutely. Because it's like the skinny shot and like it's a shortcut. And so for years I didn't well not for years but for a long time I didn't do it and I didn't want to do it. Yeah. And I thought like I'm not gonna take the shortcut, you know? I'm I'm gonna work harder. But then eventually I was like I I've tried everything. I've tried every diet. I've tried every workout. I've tried walking for hour. I would go to Europe and Paris and I would just walk for hours and the 20,000 steps a day like every single thing, you know, and nothing was working. Or I would get So this was killing me backstage. I would lose the weight, but my body liked to BE AT A CERTAIN WEIGHT. AND THAT WAS SO eyeopening for me. I was like, I feel like I didn't know that.

4:44 Enough point. Yes. And it's it's so weird cuz it's like whenever I lose weight, it's like all of a sudden I'll get even hungrier. And I'm like my And when I reach a certain weight, it wants to go back to the other weight. And I'm like, no, it's your biology. That's your biology.

5:00 You get hungrier. And guess what? When you're playing those amazing tennis matches, your body's burning less. It's more efficient. So, it's making you eat more and burn less

5:09 because it wants to keep you at that enough point. Listen, and and I had enough of that enough point.

5:14 That's right. That's right. So, what made you change your mind about trying the medications? Well, honestly, um I've heard a lot about this medication, about the GLP1s, not only for weight loss. So, that's the original reason I got on it because I was like, listen, first of all, I do want to lose weight, but there's also other benefits. I don't know if you can share those benefits. But anyway, I thought there I saw I read there's lots of other benefits in the GLP. I'm so excited to read your book because there are so many more benefits from GLP ones,

5:41 but I was like, let me at least try those benefits and maybe I can lose weight with it. But

5:46 I would like to say again, everyone's body is different. So, I don't know how you guys all feel.

5:51 I didn't lose you lost weight. You the food noise stopped for you. You said instantly.

5:55 Yeah. It stopped like the next day a month or two for me. Really? Yeah. And I don't know if anyone else had that, you know, experience, but a couple of my friends are like, "Oh, I've been on it for a month and I've only lost like three pounds." I'm like, "That's okay. I I actually probably lost one pound."

6:08 Um, so I think everyone's personal body talk like I'm like, "Talk to me ABOUT THAT. WHY WHY EVERYBODY LOSES DIFFERENTLY?" I I know somebody that just started, they lost a female who lost on the lowest lowest lowest dose lost 13 pounds in one month. That is highly unusual. I hear that there are super responders to this medication and there are low responders. There are some people who respond really really strongly to it and other people don't.

6:37 And that's cuz there's different types of obesities. There's not one type of obesity. There's different types of obesity. We just haven't figured

6:43 I had the tough time. You have the tough time. You're the But you responded which is really wonderful. And likely what what happened with you is you probably needed a higher dose. You got to start at the low dose. We'll talk about side effects later, but we got to start at the lowest dose and go up.

6:57 If you don't start at the low dose, everybody, we will talk about side effects later, but if you don't start at the low dose, that's why a lot of people were having major side effects in the beginning, throwing up, all of the gastrointestinal issues come when you take too high of a dose and you don't gradually move into higher doses.

7:16 So, it's really good because it sounds like you started at at the appropriate low doses. You go by the book. Got to go by the book. Got to go by the book. And then you go up and you probably just needed to get to that higher dose. It just takes time. But that's a good thing. The weight did not come on overnight. We don't want it to come off overnight. We want to do it slowly. We want to do it well. We want to maintain all that wonderful muscle mass, right? We don't want to lose it all at once. So, this is very good. This is very good. Yeah.

7:43 Good. So, you you you've been now taking the medications for nearly a year. What's changed for you? So, my life, I feel happier. I mean, I feel like I have more energy for my kids. Um, I have a I just feel like I can do more. Don't laugh, but I love to dance. I can drop it. I got knees like Megan now.

8:04 Would you LIKE TO SEE? YES, I like to see. OKAY. WOW. So great. No, but seriously,

8:27 it affects my joints in a like my joints are so much lighter and so much better and I can I'm like, "Oh my goodness, I just wish I had have done this while I was still playing." Like it would have made such a big difference for me in my career.

8:38 Come back. I could. But yeah, so it's just as I skip over that. Okay. It was it's just like it's affected me like I feel physically so much better. I feel more alert and it's just to be able to do things that I could never do. Like even when I was playing I could never do that at my highest because I realized it was extra weight that my joints were carrying.

9:02 And like I I can go to the clubs now. We saw you. We saw you listen during the Super Bowl doing the thing we did. True.

9:13 I hear I hear you. you you really want people to understand and I think this is so important that the medications are not a shortcut. I mean, first of all, I think that's why I was so proud of you because for you, Serena Williams, the greatest of all times to say you were having problems and now you understand that it was because of your biology and your enough point for you to not to be able to conquer the weight means it's it's it it's it's truly biological. Yeah. And it's so relatable because so many people as we see are dealing with this. Obesity is a real thing and the more I read about it, the more how it's just going to help so many things.

9:55 Like you were talking about heart disease, which is the number one killer killer of Americans of Americans and it's just

10:01 13 types of cancer, diabetes, all these different things. Well, but yeah. Yeah. I love the way the way I I love I love the row ad where you said, "I don't take shortcuts."

10:10 Yes. I don't. You don't. And so I thought that was another thing and I loved how Ro wanted to put this together because I've never taken a shortcut in my life. In fact, I would go the longer way to make sure I was the best, to make sure I did the extra work, to make sure I did the most. And so for me, and that's why it took me a little bit to want to start on the GLP one because I thought, well, is this a shortcut? And it really wasn't. It's just if anything, it's just a shortcut to better health. And that's just the way to look at it.

10:36 And and it's a way to get healthy. If you had diabetes, we wouldn't say, well, I'm sorry, you can't have any insulin. You got to do all these things.

10:43 We wouldn't say, let me try to do without the insulin as long as I can. Exactly. let me concentrate really really hard and make my blood sugars normal. We would never say that to a patient. Why do we say okay for the rest of your life control every morsel of food that you're eating. Control every movement that you're doing for the rest of your life. Why would we ever do that? Let's treat the biology. Let's treat the biology just like we treat it for any other disease. So this is absolutely not a shortcut. This is a way to treat your disease.

11:09 But I hate that we weren't looking at it as a disease. We were looking at it in a different way. But if you do change how you look at it and change the conversation, this is why this conversation is so important. I'm so glad we talked about this cuz I'm like we have

11:21 I told you we have to do something, you know, and so it's about having these types of conversations and educating people that this is a disease now treat it.

11:31 Yes. And you're a huge part of that. And obviously so is Oprah. Yes.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Serena Williams Tells Oprah Why She Decided to Try GLP-1s"?

Oprah Winfrey (Guest), Serena Williams (Guest).

What is "Serena Williams Tells Oprah Why She Decided to Try GLP-1s" about?

Serena Williams discusses her ongoing struggle with weight management following the births of her daughters and reveals her success with GLP-1 medication, which helped her lose 31 pounds. She emphasizes the personal nature of body weight challenges and highlights her collaboration with the telehealth company Row to share her transformative experience.

What is mentioned in this Oprah episode?

3 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Serena Williams, GLP-1. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Serena Williams Tells Oprah Why She Decided to Try GLP-1s"?

The episode runs 12 min; the transcript is about 2,356 words in 42 timestamped sections.

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