Serena Williams Says She and Close Friend Meghan Markle are "Relying On Each Other Recently"

Since first becoming a member of the royal family and taking on the title of Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) has needed her friends more than ever. While it’s said that her new life has left her wondering who she can really trust behind the scenes (opens in new tab), those closest to Meghan have proved just how true they are to her. Among those that she counts as her BFFs is tennis star Serena Williams (opens in new tab), who’s admitted that she and Meghan are counting on each other more than ever.

It’s been a difficult few weeks for Serena. During the 2018 U.S. Open, she was confronted by constant sexism and double standards (opens in new tab) from professionals in the industry—but it sounds as though Meghan was firmly on her side throughout.

Opening up in an interview with Australia’s The Sunday Project (opens in new tab) (reportedly filmed during the height of her recent controversy), Serena revealed that she and Meghan are constant pillars of support for one another (opens in new tab), as they find themselves under spotlights and scrutiny in the celebrity world.

Days after the infamous match (opens in new tab) which ended in an unexpected loss for the tennis superstar, Serena said of Meghan: "We were actually just texting each other this morning. We have known each other for a long time, but we really kind of are relying on each other quite a lot recently.”

Of course, friendship is a two-way street, and Serena must have also been an important source of strength and support lately for the Duchess, too. While Meghan has surely been turning to her friends for advice towards the ongoing situation with her family (opens in new tab), she has also saw her nearest and dearest come out with endless pride for her new solo project (opens in new tab). Just last week, Serena took to social media to promote Meghan’s new charity cookbook (opens in new tab), telling Instagram that she could “not be more excited or proud” of her friend.

The two women struck up a firm friendship back in 2010, when they met at the Super Bowl in 2010 and later competed together in DIRECTV’s Celebrity Beach Bowl. Meghan once revealed to Vogue (opens in new tab) just how much she admires the athlete, saying: “She will be an amazing mom. The very best, because she is so attuned to balancing strength and sensitivity.”

In the non-stop whirlwind that is her royal life, it’s reassuring to hear that Meghan has a supportive circle around her from women as strong and as supportive as Serena. And hey, if they want to invite me into their group chat, I'm down.