SIMONE OPENS UP
Simone Biles talks dating and more with In Touch.
At just 20 years old, gymnast Simone Biles has won four Olympic gold medals and three world championships. She’s traveled the world and hobnobbed with the likes of former President Barack Obama and her longtime crush, Zac Efron. One thing she has yet to do? Fall in love. “I’ve never had a boyfriend,” says the 4-foot-8 powerhouse. “I’ve been on maybe one proper date!” It’s hard to find time for romance when you’re training for the 2020 Olympics and competing on Season 24 of Dancing With the Stars. But she did take time out to talk to In Touch about what she wants in a guy, what she does when she’s not working and which celeb made her so starstruck, she collapsed!
So what are you looking for in a boyfriend? SB: Someone who is respectful and has a good personality. And a good sense of humor because I laugh all of the time!
Do you hope to get married and have kids someday? SB: Yes, I want to get married and have kids and a family, but it can wait.
What’s life been like for you since the Summer Olympics? SB: I haven’t had time to process much. Everything is happening so fast. We did a gymnastics tour, and I was traveling and doing a lot of events, too. I had a little down time between Christmas and DWTS.
What did you do? SB: Relaxing things like go to the movies or out to dinner. I just like kicking back with my friends, maybe watching a scary movie.
On DWTS, you cried while talking about being adopted by your grandparents at age 6. Was it hard to open up so publicly? SB: Yes. I’m an emotional person, but I like to hide it. I don’t want people to see me as vulnerable.
Why? SB: Because I’m a gymnast — that’s the world I come from. I’d rather mask things.
Your Olympic teammates Aly Raisman and Laurie Hernandez also did DWTS. Have they given you advice? SB: They’ll tell me what to do if my feet hurt, things like that. But mostly they just say to have fun and embrace the moment.
Laurie won, Aly came in fourth. Any pressure? SB: A little bit. Hopefully I can follow in their footsteps. They’re cheering me on every step of the way.
How does competing for the mirror-ball trophy compare to competing for Olympic gold? SB: This is more fun! I still take it very seriously, but it’s definitely different.
How so? SB: I’m not used to there being eliminations. With Team USA, we pretty much dominate. So the whole elimination process on DWTS makes me feel like I’m going to have a heart attack. But the outfits on DWTS are a lot prettier! ◼