Shawn Johnson Particulars Why She and Nastia Liukin Did not Communicate For 8 Years

Whereas collaborating in Entry Hollywood’s Behind the Easel video collection, which was posted to the present’s YouTube channel on Monday, the Olympic gold and three-time silver medalist detailed what led to her and Liukin not talking for eight years following their time competing on Crew USA gymnastics on the 2008 Summer time Olympics in Beijing.

“Nastia and I had been greatest mates, coaching, and on the Olympics we had been roommates. We had been 16 and 18 years outdated. We had been children,” recalled Johnson, now 32. “I felt like we had been beneath the highlight and scrutiny a lot to be one another’s prime, greatest opponents, and we had found out on the competitors ground find out how to be greatest mates and opponents.”

“However when the world began sort of interjecting how we must always deal with it, they mentioned we must also be one another’s worst enemies as effectively,” she continued, including, “So we did not converse for eight years.”

The Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball champion mentioned she and Liukin reconciled years later after their companions on the time stepped in.

“Our boyfriends on the time bought so uninterested in listening to us speak about one another, that they mentioned, ‘Sufficient of this, simply go speak to one another once more,’ and we did,” Johnson recalled. “And ever since then, it is simply been like we’ve not skipped a beat. We’re one another’s greatest mates, greatest supporters and we simply love one another.”

Trying again at their reconciliation, the skilled athlete mentioned it was “superb,” but in addition “a bit complicated for each of us as a result of we had been actually nervous as a result of we did not know find out how to rekindle that.”

Johnson mentioned she and Liukin met up in New York and had lunch collectively. “And actually inside two minutes, we had been again to being greatest mates,” she defined. “We each mentioned the identical factor of like, ‘I do not know what occurred, however I miss you and I miss us.’ And it has been that manner ever since.”

Each Olympians — who retired from gymnastics in 2012 — supplied commentary and made appearances on the 2024 Paris Olympics over the summer season, with Johnson being an official correspondent for Yahoo! Sports activities.

Johnson was additionally joined by her husband, Andrew East, and their three youngsters: Drew, 4, Jett, 3, and Bear, 9 months, throughout her journey, and documented their adventures in Paris on social media.