Alexis Ohanian says dead bunny helped him win over Serena

Alexis Ohanian nerded out on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, discussing cryptocurrency, his venture-capital firm and how he met his wife, Serena Williams—a somewhat tragic story involving a leopard and a bunny.

It all started, Ohanian recounted, when he overslept at a tech conference in Rome and missed breakfast. Desperate for some coffee, he got sent to a patio where Williams and her team happened to be. It is the same place he would propose to her in 2016.

That first meeting, he said, led to a passing invitation for him to watch her play at the French Open. Later on in Paris, they wound up at a zoo, watching a hungry leopard tear into a dead bunny. He credits comforting Williams in that moment with being the first spark in their relationship.

Williams coincidentally withdrew from Rome earlier in the week, citing that she is not totally ready to compete again yet.