Olympic gold gymnast Shawn Johnson reveals why she refused to speak to her best friend for 8 years

Former Olympic Gold medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson East has talked about a best friend breakup.

The Dancing With The Stars winner revealed that she went eight years without talking to her pal Nastia Liukin, 35, who was an Olympic teammate.

‘Nastia and I were best friends, training, and at the Olympics we were roommates,’ Johnson East, 32, said to Access Hollywood. 

‘We were 16 and 18 years old, we were kids,’ added the blonde.

Turns out it was not easy competing.

‘I felt like we were under the spotlight and scrutiny so much to be each other’s top, biggest competitors,’ said Johnson.

Former Olympic Gold medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson East has talked about a best friend breakup. The Dancing With The Stars winner revealed that she went eight years without talking to her pal Nastia Liukin, 35, who was an Olympic teammate. Seen with their partners

‘And we had figured out on the competition floor how to be best friends and competitors. 

‘But when the world started kind of interjecting how we should handle it, they said we should also be each other’s worst enemies as well.’

Eight years passed until loved ones stepped in. 

‘Our boyfriends at the time got so tired of hearing us talk about each other that they said, “Enough of this, just go talk to each other again,” and we did,’ she recalled.

‘And ever since then, it’s just like we haven’t skipped a beat.’

‘It was amazing,’ she said. ‘It also was really confusing for both of us because we were really nervous. We didn’t know how to rekindle that … and it was truly within like two minutes we were back to being best friends.’

Now, they are super close.

‘We both said the same thing, ‘I don’t know what happened but I miss you and I miss us,’ ‘ Johnson recalled about their reconciliation. ‘And it’s been that way ever since.’

In December 2023, Shawn welcomed her third child with former NFL player husband Andrew East. 

'Our boyfriends at the time got so tired of hearing us talk about each other that they said, "Enough of this, just go talk to each other again," and we did,' she recalled. 'And ever since then, it's just like we haven't skipped a beat.' Seen November 2 in Nashville

‘Our boyfriends at the time got so tired of hearing us talk about each other that they said, “Enough of this, just go talk to each other again,” and we did,’ she recalled. ‘And ever since then, it’s just like we haven’t skipped a beat.’ Seen November 2 in Nashville 

Johnson was also on Dancing With The Stars with Derek Hough

Johnson was also on Dancing With The Stars with Derek Hough

‘It really never gets old,’ Johnson East said as part of the announcement, via People.

‘You spend your whole pregnancy wondering how you could possibly love another baby just as much as your first two and then in an instant your heart expands and basically triples in size, it’s incredible.’ 

‘Being a mom is truly my favorite thing,’ Johnson East continued. 

Johnson East and her husband, who tied the knot in 2016, already have two children, a four-year-old daughter, Drew, and a two-year-old son, Jett. 

Shawn gave birth to a third child in with husband Andrew East, a former NFL player

Shawn gave birth to a third child in with husband Andrew East, a former NFL player

Johnson East decided not to immediately reveal the new baby's name or gender publicly

Johnson East decided not to immediately reveal the new baby’s name or gender publicly

Johnson East competed for the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning one Gold Medal and three Silver Medals.  She has been retired from gymnastics since 2012 due to knee problems. 

Andrew East was a long snapper in the NFL for five years, but only made it off the practice squad for the then-Washington Redskins in 2018 and 2019.  

Andrew East officially retired from football last year. 

Johnson East only competed at the gymnastics’ World Championships once, in 2007, winning all three events she competed in.  

The Easts welcome a third child in the same month they’re marking the one-year anniversary of Andrew’s father’s passing, which occurred on December 27, 2022. 

‘Life is so good and we are feeling really blessed to have a third healthy baby join our family. My dad was born on December 9 and passed away unexpectedly on December 27 of last year, so December is a really impactful month for us,’ East shared.

Having our baby born so close to my dad’s birthday feels really special and I know he would be smiling down and so proud of us.

‘It’s been amazing to see Shawn push through another C-section with a smile on her face and love this baby with everything she has. She’s incredible. These are the moments life is all about!’ 

The former gymnast had announced her pregnancy on Instagram in June 2023

The former gymnast had announced her pregnancy on Instagram in June 2023

She competed for USA at the 2008 Olympics, winning one Gold Medal and three Silver Medals

She competed for USA at the 2008 Olympics, winning one Gold Medal and three Silver Medals

Johnson East had announced her pregnancy on Instagram back in June, and showed off her bump for the first time.

She captioned her post: ‘Swipe for a surprise’ with a photo showing the star sitting at an ancient stadium in Greece, with the Olympic rings visible behind her.

The second snap saw Johnson turned to the side and cradling her growing bump in a black dress.

The star also showed off her bump in further snaps captioned: ‘Big baby on board again and ‘I feel free not having to hide this anymore.’

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