What Happened To US Olympic Gymnast Nastia Liukin?

Nastia Liukin was already a teenaged gymnastics sensation when she competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, picking up five medals across various events. She captivated the country, including columnist Nancy Armour at USA Today, who wrote, "From the moment she puts her fingertips onto the beam and presses herself up into the splits, her long legs unfurling like the petals of a flower, every movement is performance art." She competed alongside Shawn Johnson, who won several medals too.

Liukin looks back on that time in her life with pride. Speaking with The Olympics Channel about her experience years later, she recalled what the all-around final felt like. "I had this, like, sense of confidence and just like, comfort that I have never had in my life competing," she said, admitting she was usually nervous. "I knew I had prepared my entire career for that day, for that moment ... The energy that was in that arena was just ... nothing like it."

Talking to CNBC after the Beijing games, Liukin hinted that another round of Olympic competition might be in her future. "Four years is a long way away but I am sure it is going to go by pretty fast. Just thinking about it now is pretty far away, but I am definitely not turning it down now." However, Liukin was not part of Team USA when they competed in London in 2012. So, what happened to Nastia Liukin in the time since?

In 2012, Nastia Liukin hoped to return to the Olympics to compete in London. However, at trials that June, she fell short ... literally. While flipping around the uneven bars, Liukin missed the grab. She fell straight down onto the mat, landing on her face; her coach, who is also her father, didn't catch her. Liukin got back up and finished the routine to a standing ovation from the crowd, but her mistake was enough to cost her the chance to compete again.

As a result, she retired from the sport. Speaking with ESPN after the trials, Liukin insisted, "I don't consider this a failure for me. There can be different highs in your career and I feel like I've lived through amazing highs now. ... Having two standing ovations for my performances tonight was something I'll remember for the rest of my life."

After the mistake, there was much conversation about whether her coach should've caught her. In her memoir "Finding My Shine," Liukin reflected that it wasn't her dad's fault. "To catch me — or not? My dad only had a split second to make his decision, and up until the last instant even I thought I was going to catch the bar," she wrote (via NBC Sports). "I've watched the video of that fall many times, and if I had been in his shoes, I have to say that I would have made the same decision as he did."

After Nastia Liukin failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and retired from the sport of gymnastics, one of many Olympic moments guaranteed to make you cry, she had to figure out what came next. That meant life as a regular citizen. Beginning in 2012, Liukin attended New York University, where she went to the School of Professional Studies and majored in Sports Management.

She appeared in a YouTube video for NYU promoting the school, explaining how she was adjusting to life after Olympic fame. "I was a little scared, kind of, going into this new life, because for so many years, I didn't really have a choice," she said, noting that her training schedule determined her life before college. Liukin, it seems, particularly enjoyed the freedom that came with living in a new city. "New York really gives you the opportunity to be whoever you want to be," she said.

She noted that even though her competitive career was over, her competitive spirit hadn't gone away. That meant she was very hard on herself when it came to academics too, and she found herself getting nervous while taking exams. Her father reminded her that finals are nothing compared to the Olympics. "I try to calm myself down and think, if I could do that," she said, "then I can do this."

During her junior year at NYU, Nastia Liukin returned to the national spotlight when she competed on "Dancing With The Stars." She told Fox 5 New York that the school made allowances for her to compete. "Going into school, I never wanted any special treatment," she explained. "I always said I just want to be a student like anyone else." Instead, she found her professors were more than accommodating, and they were excited to be able to vote for her on the reality show.

Liukin was partnered with Derek Hough, and she noted that her five Olympic medals mirrored Hough's then-five Mirror Ball Trophy wins. They had a successful run on the show, but they were cut just before the finale, despite stellar scores from the judges.

In a post-elimination interview with Us Weekly, Liukin expressed dissatisfaction with the way she'd been portrayed on the show. "Of course I would have loved to dance in the finale, but this has nothing to do with that," she said. "I wish I had the chance to tell my story the way that everyone else had to tell theirs." Instead, she felt like she came across as cold and unrelatable, which was exactly the perception she was hoping to overturn. "It was really important for me to open up to America and show them who the real me is," she said. "I want people to know that I am not perfect."

Nastia Liukin trained most of her early life to be an Olympic-level athlete. Then she wasn't training as much anymore, and naturally, she put on a bit of weight. Unfortunately, that made her a target for body-shamers online, who were especially cruel about the fact that her body no longer looked the way it did when she was competing as a teenager.

In a 2018 interview with StyleCaster, Liukin explained (via Daily Mail), "Yes. I gained some weight. But my body is going through this change. Everyone goes through that. I guess not everyone goes through it in the public eye." Because of all the attention, difficult comments from the public shook Liukin's self-confidence. She wore ill-fitting clothing to try to hide, and she found herself isolated. "I didn't want to go anywhere," she said (via Yahoo). "I didn't want to go to events or to dinner or do anything because I was so insecure with myself and my body because of what other people were saying."

Liukin still worked out regularly and told StyleCaster she just needed to change her frame of mind in order to regain her confidence. She later wound up losing some weight, and then she would hear from people that she was too skinny. "I am healthy," she insisted (via Today). "That's frustrating. It can put you down. It hurts the same, whether it's one way or another. No matter what, you're never going to be what people want."

In 2015, Nastia Liukin announced in a since-deleted Instagram post (via JustJared Jr.) that she got engaged to her NHL player boyfriend Matt Lombardi. Like a true millennial, she captioned the photo of her engagement ring, "So this just happened..." They planned to marry in 2017, but they wound up calling off the wedding in order to make sure it was something they really wanted. Liukin told People that it didn't mean they were going to break up, just that they needed more time before getting hitched. "My career has been so crazy, we both felt it was best to take a breather and focus on spending time with each other," she said.

Unfortunately, they did not ultimately make it down the aisle. They called off the wedding entirely in 2018, going their separate ways after three years engaged. She told People several months after the breakup that her past as an Olympian affected how she handled the split, noting, "As an athlete if things don't go your way, if you don't come out on top, you feel like you've somewhat failed. This has always been a big learning lesson for me."

For his part, Lombardi addressed the split in a 2020 appearance on the "#Adulting" podcast. "I don't have any regrets about my relationship with Nastia," he said. "We're amicable and we get along, and we're, I think, just both doing our own things."

Even though Nastia Liukin no longer competes in gymnastics on the Olympic level, she's still heavily involved with the sport. Case in point: She's a huge cheerleader for Simone Biles, the record-breaking gymnast whose abilities captivate the country each time she competes. During the 2021 Olympics, Liukin told Access Hollywood, "She can do the most difficult routines and the most difficult skills in the world that nobody is doing ... She's so far ahead of the rest of the field, but again, that's what makes her, in my opinion, the greatest of all time."

Those Olympic games turned out to be difficult for Biles, who wound up dropping out of the final competition to protect her mental health. While Biles faced condemnation from certain sectors of the internet who were unhappy to see a woman admitting she needed help, Liukin stood by her fellow competitor.

On Instagram, Liukin shared an open letter to Biles, thanking her for being a role model for people everywhere who need to realize that it's okay to admit that you're not okay. "Thank you for helping the world realize that prioritizing your physical and mental health is the mark of a true champion," she wrote. "No one will be remembered for any single routine, competition, or medal. You, however, will undeniably be remembered by many for the compassion and bravery shown here in Tokyo. You came here as a gymnast, and you're leaving as a hero."

Thanks to her expertise, Nastia Liukin has been a gymnastics commentator for NBC Sports since she retired. That year, in 2012, Liukin attended the Olympics anyway, even though she didn't compete. "Literally the next day, my agent gets a call from NBC," Liukin told the "Just Women's Sports" podcast. "When one door closes, another one opens."

She spoke about the gig in an interview with Access Hollywood ahead of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, explaining that she loved getting a chance to be a part of the event even though she no longer competes. "Being still part of something that I'm so passionate about, which is like, gymnastics and the Olympics, and being part of the NBC family ... I was thinking about that today," she said, recalling a time when she was younger and wondered if she would ever get a chance to commentate someday. Liukin always assumed athletes are the ones who are most passionate about the games, but she was excited to learn that the broadcast team is, in many ways, just as passionate.

As of press time, Liukin hasn't spoken publicly about her relationship with NBC in recent years. It seems that she won't be back to offer insight on the 2024 Olympics in Paris. NBC announced a list of over 150 commentators in June 2024 (via Behind The Mic), and Liukin's name is nowhere to be found on the list.

In 2023, Nastia Liukin returned to reality TV when she competed on Fox's show "Special Forces," which puts celebrities through military training exercises. Liukin was part of the show's first season, which also included people like Kate Gosselin, Britney Spears' estranged sister Jamie Lynn Spears, and Liukin's fellow Olympian Gus Kenworthy.

While competing on the show, Liukin was made to compete in a number of physically challenging scenarios, including having to cross a tightrope over a 200-foot canyon. She was one of only three competitors who made it across. Liukin told Olympics.com that her past in gymnastics made it possible, explaining, "I specifically remember thinking, 'No, you're at the Olympic Games right now.' I literally would just pull myself up and be like, 'The gold medal is on the line.'"

Though her physical prowess would have put her in a good position to complete more challenges, Liukin wound up leaving the show of her own accord. After Kenworthy suggested she was being treated differently than the rest of the cast, Liukin decided to walk away. She told People she realized she was unhappy, and she decided to prioritize her well-being rather than pushing through filming the rest of the series. "I feel like I let people's thoughts about myself dictate my worth, and dictate the internal progress and breakthroughs that I had made up until that point," she said. "It was an experience I certainly will take with me forever."

After breaking up with Matt Lombardi, Nastia Liukin moved on with a man named Ben Weyand. Lombardi was in the NHL, but Weyand appears to be a regular citizen. According to People, he played college football, but Weyand is now in finance. The outlet reported in February 2024 that he's the Operations Vice President of Finance at Trive Capital, though his staff page no longer appears on the company's website; it's unclear whether they've parted ways or if it was taken down for privacy reasons, considering his famous girlfriend.

On the occasion of Weyand's birthday in 2023, Liukin penned a heartfelt Instagram caption about how much she loves their relationship. Alongside snaps of them cavorting on a beach and relaxing on a boat, Liukin wrote, "You have taken the phrase 'to know you is to love you' to a level I've never full experienced. And I am very lucky to get to love you and all of your incredible qualities that make you, YOU – every single day." She praised her boyfriend's willingness to commit to a theme party, concluding, "Here's to many more fun days, adventures, sunsets, and maybe even bike rides together. I love you!"

Even though she's no longer competing and hasn't been announced as a commentator for the Paris Olympics, Nastia Liukin has remained a part of the gymnastics world. At an event called Gold Meets Golden, which invites athletes and entertainment stars to meet and mingle, Liukin spoke with E! News about what Team USA 2024 should keep in mind as they head to Paris to compete. Simone Biles will once again go for the gold, having come a long way from her start at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

One of Liukin's biggest tips was to try to ignore any online chatter. "As long as you feel like you're being the best version of you and you can stand true to yourself, that's the most important thing," she said. "I'm just glad that I competed in an era where I didn't have social media."

Furthermore, Liukin suggested that her successors stay focused on the experience. Along those lines, she revealed that she kept a journal back when she was competing, which was a great way to memorialize how she felt about her historic career. "I wrote in it every single day, and I have that for the rest of my life," she said. "Try to be present in the moment. It goes by fast."