It's been over a decade since Olympic medalists Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin had a rift. But Johnson’s recent gesture said the wound is still as fresh as ever.

In a recent episode of Hoda Kotb’s Joy101 podcast, posted on June 22, Johnson was asked about the moment when she, 16 and Liukin, 18, had to end their friendship. And surely enough, the 4x Olympic medalist was on the verge of tears.

“I could cry about it on the spot. It felt like I lost a part of me,” Johnson explained. “She's the only one who really understands me on that level. And I'm the only one who understands her on that level.”

Individual competition while being in a team isn’t uncommon in gymnastics. And up until the 2008 Beijing Games, both of them managed the pressure of being pitted against each other and constant scrutiny well. Except there was a limit to it.

“We navigated it so well all the way up until the Olympics. At the Olympics, we were still navigating it well,” she added. “But then that's kind of when all the outside voices started coming in… We didn't know how to navigate that after the Olympics… we didn't really interact for 8 years.”

But even that eight-year distance came to an end. And Johnson knew it could’ve ended sooner had they done one important thing.

Shawn Johnson Would Say Communication Is Key

Letting outsiders decide the course of their friendship and going no-contact for 8 years cost Johnson and Liukin heavily. And in a 2025 episode of her and her husband Andrew East’s Couple Things podcast, Johnson admitted it.

“I think in times of insecurity like that, you just have to quiet it and go to the source, call someone, go to coffee,” she said. “Nastia and I could have benefited from that, because we both missed each other so much. And we were letting other voices speak to us.”

All they needed was a lunch date in New York in 2016, right before Johnson’s wedding to East. And the meeting solved everything that seemed to be an issue for years.

“When we finally quieted that and sat down, it was like we never left,” she added. "And I said, 'I know this is short notice, but I can't imagine my wedding without you there… She made it, and it was the greatest thing ever." 

Ever since, the two have gone back to being the best friends they were at 16 and 18, only better and stronger.

Can you recall any similar incidents with other athletes, tho? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy