Shawn Johnson East Talks Life After the Olympics, Body Confidence & More! (EXCLUSIVE)
Once celebrated as America’s Most-Liked Sports Figure, Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson East has fond memories of the 2008 games that cemented her into the hearts of millions.
“I remember one night me and all the girls were sitting in our Olympic village apartment and we were having a gummy bears war, throwing gummy bears at each other,” Shawn tells Woman’s World as our cover girl (buy your copy here!). “I was just a 16-year-old kid.”
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She also remembers the thrill of winning. “I just remember feeling honored. It was my dream my whole life leading up to that moment and especially as a kid,” she recalls. “I was a junior in high school and I had just kind of sacrificed everything, my social life, my high school life. Every decision I made up until that point was based on the Olympics and to actually be there was a surreal moment.”
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Today, Shawn is a wife, mother, New York Times best-selling author and winner of season eight of Dancing with the Stars, who makes her home in Nashville, TN. She and her husband Andrew have three young children and also oversee their media company, FamilyMade. They also co-host a popular podcast, Couple Things, and their YouTube channel has more than 405 million views.
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Shawn Johnson East: Life after the Olympics
These days, Shawn’s reveling in her busy life and the perspective marriage and motherhood have brought. “I spent all of my twenties caring so much about how people thought and that’s just exhausting,” she shares.
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“The way I dressed, what I did, it was always just to please someone, and I think by your thirties, you just get tired of it. I feel like I’m just more confident and comfortable in who I am now than I ever was. It makes me feel more peaceful, not as anxious and just happier.”
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Shawn admits to struggling with body image, but says becoming a mother changed her perspective. “I struggled with eating disorders and body image for 10-plus years, and the thing that truly changed my life was my daughter,” she reveals.
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“What changed for me is asking myself ‘What do I want her to feel about herself?’ Whatever I want my daughter to feel, I need to feel in my own heart. If I fall into the trap that I need to look a certain way or lose weight, that’s what my daughter sees and will likely emulate. I’ve learned it’s vital to love yourself — the little ones are always watching.”
Shawn Johnson East: How motherhood changed her life
Shawn has three young children — four-year-old daughter Drew, two-year-old son Jett and her youngest son Barrett, born last December, whose nickname is Bear. She says family inspires her and gives her purpose. “I feel like after the Olympics everything I did in my life was — and I don’t mean this in a bad way — but it was selfish,” she says.
“Everything was about me. It was about my dreams, my goals and my aspirations and after getting married and having babies, it’s funny how all that shifts so drastically. Now all of my dreams and aspirations have to do with being the best wife, being the best mother,” Shawn says. “Even my career, I have dreams in my career, but if they don’t serve my family, they don’t even feel worth it. I want to do it all for my babies.”
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Shawn Johnson East: Her best advice
Over her young lifetime, Shawn has also learned to trust her instincts and stay true to herself.
“Stop trying so hard for other people,” she urges. “I felt like I was changing everything about myself for everyone. I remember getting into relationships and thinking, ‘What do they want? Who do I need to be for them?’ Or in jobs, I was like, ‘What should I do that people would respect?’ And in school it was, ‘What career should I be working towards that people are telling me to do?’ I really don’t think I formed an identity for myself until later in life. I would just say stop doing things for other people. Figure out who you are and find someone who loves that.”
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