Michael Phelps Wife: What Do We Know About Her?
Michael Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers of all time, as well as the most-decorated Olympian ever. He retired from competitive swimming after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics but remains a celebrity loved the world over.
After being in the public eye for so long, you’d think we would know everything about his personal life, too. But many fans are unaware that Michael Phelps’ wife is actually a former Miss California star.
So, what do we know about Michael Phelps’ wife?
Who is Michael Phelps’ Wife?
Michael Phelps’ wife is actually Miss California 2010 Nicole Johnson. She later competed in the Miss USA pageant but despite being a favourite to win she came ninth.
In fact, the beauty queen had been competing in pageants since she was 17 years old and competed in seven total.
On the world of beauty pageants, she said: “People think pageant girls are snotty, cutthroat, self-absorbed. Everybody that I meet in the industry is so kind, giving, and they are some of the most amazing women.”
(Image/ Source: Instagram @mrs.nicolephelps)
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However, pageants were never her day job. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in communications, and actually concentrated on sports and entertainment.
She worked for ESPN for a spell, and this was how she ended up meeting Michael Phelps in 2007 at the ESPY Awards.
They had an on-again-off-again relationship for a long time – they were together until 2011 and then broke up, only to get back together in 2014.
Michael Phelps spoke about his rocky relationship with Nicole, saying: “I said to a couple of my friends if I ever had the chance to get her back, that would be it. She was the one I loved the most.”
Does He Have Kids?
Thankfully, the two managed to make it work, and Michael proposed to Nicole in 2015. This was shortly after Michael spent some time in a treatment facility after a DUI arrest.
Since then, their relationship has only gotten stronger. Nicole gave birth to their first child, Boomer, in May 2016.
The couple tied the knot in a personal ceremony at their home in Arizona just a month later, then flew their closest friends out to Mexico for a beautiful destination wedding in October.
(Image/ Source: Instagram @m_phelps00)
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Their second child was born two years after that stellar Olympic year – another boy called Beckett. However, the two weren’t finished yet and completed their family of five with Maverick Phelps, born in September 2019.
On their first child, Boomer’s, fourth birthday in 2020, Nicole posted a sweet gallery of photos on Instagram. She captioned it: “You amaze me everyday with your intelligence and talents. Each birthday has brought so much love and laughter, I can’t wait to see what today brings.
I’ll dig dinosaur bones up with you, ride bikes on the track, bake, paint, sing & dance all you want.”
Michael Phelps’ Ex-Girlfriend Controversy
Recently, Michael Phelps has found himself in hot water, and it concerns one of his former flames.
Taylor Lianne Chandler reportedly met Michael Phelps on Tinder in 2014, and the two started a short relationship. However, they broke up when Taylor worried about how Michael would react to her revealing that she is intersex.
Taylor was born with male genitalia but no testicles and a uterus but no ovaries. From a young age, she knew she was really a woman, and transitioned as soon as she could.
(Image/ Source: buzzfeed.com)
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Back to the controversy. This year, Michael has become embroiled in a heated discussion about whether transgender athlete Lia Thomas should be allowed to compete in a women’s team.
Lia was approved to swim on the women’s team by the NCAA as she had already started taking testosterone suppressants.
Michael Phelps controversially compared it to doping, saying: “I can talk from the standpoint of doping. I don’t think I’ve competed in a clean field in my entire career.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. We all should feel comfortable with who we are, but I think sports should be played on an even playing field. It’s hard. It’s very complicated.”
Taylor lambasted her ex for his comments, saying: “Governing bodies should not succumb to outside pressure by people that are not trans and don’t have a horse in the race,” she continued. “What makes Michael Phelps an authority to even speak to trans women competing in swimming?”
