Shawn Johnson named former Olympic teammate Nastia Liukin as newborn's godmother
Shawn Johnson recently announced the birth of her daughter in a series of adorable snaps on social media.
The former Olympic gold medalist and her husband, Andrew East, did not disclose the baby's name or birthday, but we do know her godmother.
Johnson's former U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics teammate Nastia Liukin, who is also a gold medalist herself, is taking on the special role.
In an Instagram story, Liukin wrote, "So freaking happy for you both and cannot wait to meet my little goddaughter."
Back in September, Liukin also expressed her excitement for her former teammate.
"Still can’t believe you’re having a baby.... and I get to be @theeastbaby's godmother," she wrote alongside a snap of herself with Johnson. "Love you and can't wait to see you soon."
The two athletes have been in each other's lives for years, but their friendship was impacted by feud rumors that began after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
They set the record straight on their relationship in a 2018 YouTube video titled, "WE DIDN'T TALK FOR 8 YEARS AND NOW WE ARE BFFs."
"The weird story is, we were best friends all the way through the Olympics. ... Right after the Olympics, we kind of had like a falling out, but it wasn’t like anything between us," Johnson explained.
Liukin added that there was never a specific incident that ended their friendship.
Johnson shared that they felt "the entire world like plotted us against one another" after the Olympics.
"As a 16 and 18-year-old girl -- not that we weren't mature but we just didn't have these life experiences ... and we were so used to any time somebody told us something, we believed it," Liukin added. "We thought that was right, or that’s what was supposed to happen. Or that’s how we were supposed to act."
The two said they followed each others activities for years but didn't stay in touch. They eventually reconnected after Johnson sent Liukin a letter sharing how much she missed her.
Check out their entire story below.
