Reddit/Getty ImagesWhen it comes to athletes in Hollywood, one romance can put you on the map to Tinseltown.
As fans relish in the news of Serena Williams' first pregnancy with fiancé and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, her star power has arguably never shone brighter. First and foremost, she's a world number one ranked tennis player with more titles and accolades than a single resumé could ever fit. At 35 years old, she has already been regarded by some as the greatest female tennis player of all time. It is most likely because of her dedication to her sport that fans can lose sight of the fact that Williams also has a personal life, one that saw two major milestones this year.
While she certainly manges her typically private personal life on her own terms, everyone loves a love story, particularly in Hollywood where the romances can be torrid and the marriages brief. When a champion of the court has the chance to relish in something relatable, whether it's walking down the aisle or giving birth, the headlines begin and the public typically rejoices.
"I'm so happy for your joy both on and off the court!" one fan wrote to the mom-to-be on social media. In these moments, the fans are more curious than ever because it's something they can feel connected to and magazines, websites and red carpet gaggles help feed that curiosity.
The attention can escalate even more for athletes who get involved with people that are already celebrities, like baseball pitcher Justin Verlander or tennis star Andy Roddick, whose significant others are Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girls Kate Upton and Brooklyn Decker. While Hollywood may not have known much about the men beyond their current team and position, after their respective romances with the models, Tinseltown took interest in who the stars had chosen to spend their lives with.
That interest often reveals itself in questions from late-night hosts about wedding planning, photoshoots featuring the future Mr. and Mrs. in magazine spreads and, if you're Victoria Beckham and David Beckham, your wedding photos plastered on the cover of Ok! Magazine.
While the athlete in question may not have been a red carpet staple before, thanks to their star-studded significant other, the paparazzi are eager to get a shot of that mid-pose kiss because that's what the people want to see.
In addition to being their famous significant other's permanent plus one to the Grammy Awards, a main character on their reality show à la Kroy Biermann and Kim Zolciak-Biermann or the woman of your hot new music video (we're looking at you, Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova), the star also has first dibs on the best seat in the stadium and can often win fans' hearts without even playing, like Tom Brady's right-hand woman, Gisele Bündchen.
As the New England Patriots secured their most recent Super Bowl win this year, fans looked to the supermodel, who was adorably freaking out in the stands like any proud wife would.
However, the flip side to the new fame is that people cling to all aspects of an athlete-celebrity pairing, even the elements that are not glossy.
Former couples like Aaron Rodgers and Olivia Munn had been chipped away at by their dual star power (fans blamed Munn for the quarterback's poor performance on the field), while others, like Carmelo Anthony and La La Anthony have had to manage their separation and allegations of Carmelo's infidelity in the spotlight.
For Tiger Woods, who admitted to cheating on his wife Elin at the height of his golf career, the fame he found on the course escalated his personal infamy.
"I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled," he said during a press conference. "Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them."