The Transformation Of Shawn Johnson From Toddler To 29

The following article includes mentions of depression, eating disorders, and sexual abuse.

Olympic silver and gold medalist Shawn Johnson East is a wife, mother, author, speaker, YouTuber, and entrepreneur. It's obvious that she's accomplished a great deal in 29 years. The star gymnast committed to her sport from a young age and leapt across the floor, vault, beam, and bars with bountiful strength and energy. She worked hard on her skills in her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa, and with great parenting and coaching, Johnson shined in her competitions and became a favorite for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. 

Her gradual exit from competitive gymnastics opened the door for dreams and decisions a young Shawn Johnson might never have imagined. The star recalled on the "Dinner Party with Jeremy Fall" podcast, "I wanted to be a doctor. My dream in life was to be an orthopedic surgeon, to go to Stanford University, and that was kind of my plan." Johnson continued, "After the Olympics were over, I got thrown into the spotlight, which I was not prepared for. You have to understand that I was a 16-year-old child ... I hadn't seen a lot of the world, because I had spent so much of my life in a gym."

The former Olympian has since branched into many arenas. She's a true celebrity with a desire to give back, and the philanthropist has worked with Children's Miracle Network for many years (via Parents) and is on the Character Counts advisory council, per her website. So, how has Shawn Johnson transformed from her gymnastics days to a thriving adulthood?

Liang Chow's philosophy allowed Shawn Johnson to have fun while she discovered her gymnastics talent. "He always claimed that no coach can look at a kid when she is six and determine whether she'll be a champion," Johnson recalled in "Winning Balance." She added, "He considered my desire to be in motion a benefit, and he focused on teaching me how to concentrate when it really mattered. At the same time, he made sure that I — and all his gymnasts — had plenty of space and time to master new skills." 

As she increased her commitment to gymnastics, Johnson started kindergarten at Westridge Elementary in her hometown. She loved going to school each day and spent more and more afternoons at the gym as she grew. The aspiring gymnast reached level five and became eligible to compete at seven years old, per Chow's rules. As adorable and energetic as Johnson was, however, she didn't make the highest marks. Still, she pressed on and advanced to the next level, which was more suited to the "physical power" Johnson possessed. 

"I wanted to win, and I wanted to be just like everyone else," Johnson wrote in "Winning Balance." She certainly had a more demanding schedule than her peers, spending four hours at Chow's every day after school, adding, "I was usually the last athlete to leave the gym each evening, simply because I always wanted one more chance to get a skill right."

After so many successes in a short time, Shawn Johnson reached even higher. After the young gymnast won the Tyson American Cup all-around, Sheryl Shade became her agent, per "Winning Balance." At 15 years old, Johnson was deemed a senior competitor. She was the all-around champion at the Pan American Games and the Visa National Championships in 2007, the latter qualifying her to compete at Worlds. Johnson and her teammates went to Stuttgart, Germany for the World Gymnastics Championships. There, she won a gold medal for her floor routine and the all-around and received the Longines Prize for Elegance, not to mention a gold with her team.

A shin stress fracture temporarily paused Johnson's training, but she was still on the path to the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing. She was the floor exercise and all-around champion at Nationals in 2008, and she worked hard throughout the Olympic Trials. With her all-around win at Trials, Johnson "automatically qualified for the US Olympic Team. I was absolutely thrilled," she wrote in "Winning Balance." She continued, "After all of the training I had done and my performance in Philadelphia, I could finally say, 'I am an Olympic athlete.'" 

Then, Shawn Johnson found out that she and Nastia Liukin would still have to compete for their spots on the team, despite their previous wins. They made it through the selection process at the Karolyis' ranch and headed to Beijing.

Post-Olympics life was a big adjustment for this gymnast. "I quickly realized I had a self-confidence and self-image issue of, if I couldn't maintain perfection, I would go to any and all costs to achieve it," Shawn Johnson explained on YouTube in 2020. She discussed her restrictive and disordered eating as an Olympian and said she "didn't know how to handle" post-Olympic weight gain that was "actually healthy and normal" for her body. Johnson turned to "weight loss pills," "Excedrin," and "Adderall," and experienced a "dark spiral" with depression — and moving into this new chapter felt like "run[ning] straight into a brick wall, full-speed."

"Dancing with the Stars" offered a fresh opportunity for Shawn Johnson. At 17, she was the show's youngest competitor up to that point. She even had to have an adult with her at all times, so Teri Johnson moved out to Los Angeles with her daughter for the duration of the competition. In "Winning Balance," Shawn detailed the highs and lows of her experience. The gymnast excelled on the dance floor. Upon nailing a salsa routine with her partner, Mark Ballas, Shawn "felt more confident, more alive," she wrote, before adding, "almost like I could do anything after making it through that dance." But just as the star dancer was rejoicing in her success, she learned that a stalker had driven from Florida to California to kill or kidnap her. 

With a bodyguard and heightened security, she finished her season on "DWTS" and won the mirror ball trophy she deserved. In this endeavor, too, Shawn Johnson was a champion.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Shawn Johnson announced her gymnastics comeback in 2010 while visiting an elementary school in her hometown (via K5). She also spoke with ESPNW in 2011 about returning to gymnastics: "I realized one day that I really, really missed it. I missed being considered an athlete and having that competitive drive, and missed having something to work for every day. I'd taken two and a half years away from the sport and was out of shape." Johnson continued, "I wanted to get back to where I was in 2008. I wanted to feel the pride that comes from competing for your country, and I wanted to hopefully go back to the Olympics and experience that whole Olympic feeling again." 

While recovering from her knee injury, Johnson rebuilt her skills and rejoined Team USA. As "the oldest American on the team," she took on a motherly role, giving encouragement and advice to the younger gymnasts, she explained in "Winning Balance." Johnson would go on to take home a gold medal with her team and win the silver for the uneven bars at the Pan American Games in 2011. 

The gymnast also took the initiative to help schoolchildren during this time by introducing the Shawn Johnson Fitness for Life Act, which aimed to "combat childhood obesity by promoting the use of innovative technology to improve physical education programs in schools."

Shawn Johnson made the right choice for her life and wellbeing, but she didn't leave the gymnastics world entirely. Johnson worked for Today as its "special correspondent" for the 2012 Olympics in London. She had briefly dated cyclist Taylor Phinney and went to watch him race at the Games as a friend. Sitting next to her was Guy East, her future brother-in-law, who set Johnson up with Andrew East.

Andrew East struck up a conversation with Johnson on Twitter, then they started texting. "I was just getting out of a four-year relationship," Johnson explained on YouTube in 2018. She and her ex-boyfriend had gotten into an argument and parted ways — and Johnson spontaneously invited the Nashville-based Andrew out to Los Angeles, where she lived, and he was soon on the way. The rest, as they say, is history (but more on all of that below).

Meanwhile, harkening back to 2008, "Dancing with the Stars" called up Shawn Johnson to invite her to compete in "Dancing with the Stars: All Stars." She danced with Derek Hough in the 2012 competition and took second place. In an interview for the Team USA website, Johnson was asked how her background helped her dancing. "I honestly don't think it helps at all," she said. "It gave me that athletic ability of being driven and having to work for something and being disciplined, but it's completely different in the movement side of it where it's really graceful and smooth and you're not serious. I feel like I have to fight my gymnastics habits a lot."

Andrew East and Shawn Johnson continued to develop their relationship, first long-distance and then in the same town. The former Olympian conveniently moved to Nashville, Tennessee and enrolled in classes at Vanderbilt University. However, she changed her plans and withdrew before the semester for "Celebrity Apprentice." But that didn't stop her from attending East's football games. As Johnson told Vanderbilt University News a few years later, "It has been very special to be a part of the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities," adding that she "was welcomed with open arms."

In 2015, Andrew East proposed to Shawn Johnson after she and Alicia Sacramone threw out the first pitch for a Chicago Cubs game — right there on Wrigley Field (via Cut4). The following year, the Easts said "I do" at a Franklin, Tennessee farm. In the couple's first year of marriage, Andrew played in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders while Shawn maintained a busy schedule (including commentating at the Rio Olympics that summer and embarking on a subsequent Team USA tour). 

"I love him more every single day," newlywed Shawn Johnson East told People in 2017. She continued, "The first year is the hardest and best year of your life!"

Shawn Johnson East and husband Andrew East announced the former gymnast's subsequent pregnancy in January 2021. Both Shawn and Andrew later tested positive for COVID-19 not long after she became pregnant. Around this time, Shawn wrote in part on her Instagram Stories (via People), "Praying so hard for all of those babies out there tonight (sappy mama here) and everyone fighting for their health." 

Thankfully, the couple recovered in plenty of time and had welcomed a baby boy in July 2021. Their first Instagram announcement was reportedly on the page for their toy shop, Teddy and Bear. Per Good Morning America, the Easts' Instagram Stories read, "We're so excited to announce a new friend is here! Mom and baby are doing well, and we can't wait to meet our new friend."

In an Olympics-themed episode of their "Couple Things" podcast, Shawn Johnson East shared that she and Andrew were supposed to attend the Tokyo Games in 2021. But obviously, the International Gymnastics Hall of Famer couldn't fly to Tokyo with a baby on the way. "It's a sore subject," Andrew said. However, as Shawn responded, "It is, but we got little man instead, which is such a blessing."