Shawn Johnson's wedding played a big role in her and Nastia Liukin becoming friends again.
Johnson, 32, made the revelation in a new interview. access hollywood The famous gymnasts reportedly fell out after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but reconciled eight years later.
In 2018, the two spoke about the rift in their friendship during a YouTube roundtable at Liukin's Grander Summit in Boston. Ms Liukin explained that she decided to “repair” her relationship with Mr Johnson after learning that she had not been invited to his 2016 wedding.
Their road to reconciliation began when Johnson wrote an email to Liukin that he described as a “love letter” at the airport in Dallas, near Liukin's hometown.
“I completely understand if you do not respond,” Johnson said in the letter. NBC Sports. “Just know that I love you. I miss you best friend. I will support you in everything you do.”
Liukin said he received the email while at a restaurant in Manhattan. She had just given an interview to the New York Times and was asked if she would be attending Mr. Johnson's wedding. Former NFL star Andrew East.
At the time, Liukin had not received an invitation to the wedding.
“That's when it really hit me, because this girl who I've been best friends with for years was about to have the biggest moment of her life. I'm not going there,” Liukin said in a YouTube clip. He spoke at “when [the reporter] When I heard that, I knew I had to fix this. ”
The Russian-born athlete recalled going to the bathroom and crying when she saw Johnson's email. She responded immediately, and the former teammates met in New York a few weeks later.
Liukin later attended Johnson and East's wedding on April 16, 2016 in Franklin, Tennessee.
She said Johnson was “the bigger person” for reaching out to her first, which led to their reconciliation.
Liukin and Johnson were still teenagers when they competed in the 2008 Beijing Games. Their friendship fell apart due to the public wanting them to become bitter rivals at the time.
“I didn't like either of them. It was like 'Twilight,'” Liukin said in a YouTube video. “As 16- and 18-year-old girls, we were used to every time someone said something and we believed it. We thought it was right. Or it was supposed to happen. Or that's what we should have done.”
Johnson added, “Right after the Olympics, it was like the whole world conspired against us. The moment we hit the all-around, we were like Nastia and Sean. … We were like, well, they're me. I felt like they didn't want us to be friends. They wouldn't let us be friends.”
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Johnson said that her and Liukin's loved ones stepped in to try to reconnect with the gymnasts.
“My boyfriends at the time were tired of hearing us talk about each other and said, 'Enough, let's talk again.' So that's what we did.” “Dancing with the Stars'' champion revealed. “I feel like we haven’t had a break since then.”
“We both said the same thing: 'I don't know what happened, but I miss you and I miss you,'” Johnson added of the settlement. “And it's been that way ever since.”
Johnson won four medals and Liukin won five medals at the 2008 Olympics.
Both retired from competitive gymnastics in 2012.
