What Happened To U.S. Olympic Gymnast MyKayla Skinner

Since bursting onto the national gymnastics scene in the 2010s,, MyKayla Skinner has enjoyed an illustrious gymnastics career. When Simone Biles was unable to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Skinner stepped in and gained widespread recognition, winning the silver medal for her majestic standout performance. But as her star shone, it faded just as fast. Skinner announced her retirement prior to her Olympics victory and has been keeping things low-key ever since.

As we eagerly watch the 2024 U.S. gymnastics teams compete in Paris, one can't help but wonder what happened to Skinner. These days, gymnastics isn't at the top of the star's priority list, though she's found adjusting to a post-athletic career a daunting experience. "My whole life has been gymnastics, so it was definitely, like a weird phase for a while," she told Inside Gymnastics Magazine. "I miss doing the big tricks because that was my favorite, of course, and going out there and competing. But training? No!" Let's find out what happened to U.S. Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner.

In 2021, MyKayla Skinner's Olympic dreams were almost thwarted when she became seriously ill with COVID-19. She was hospitalized with pneumonia and feared that she would not make it to the Tokyo Olympics. "I survived, but I wanted to give up so many times. I was like, 'I don't even know if I can do this anymore,'" she told Today at the time.

Thankfully, she did recover from the illness and competed at the Tokyo Olympics, where she received acclaim for her silver-worthy performance. However, it would be her final Olympics, as she announced her retirement shortly before competing. The shock decision was partly based on the toll gymnastics took on her body. "I am not getting any younger and my body definitely needs a rest after this last comeback ... As one door closes, another opens, and I'm excited for what's ahead," she stated in an Instagram post.

Since her retirement, Skinner has referenced her bout of COVID-19 as being one of her biggest setbacks as an Olympian, but one that ultimately pushed her to pursue her dreams into the next chapter of her life. "I had like all these setbacks, didn't even think I was going to make the Olympics at this point," she told Tubefilter in 2023. "It was so crazy, but I had a positive mindset and attitude. I was like, 'You know what? I've proven people wrong so many times, I can do this again.'"

Following her retirement, MyKayla Skinner proved that she's as adept at being a reality TV personality as she is at competing in professional gymnastics. In 2022, it was announced that Skinner and her husband, Jonas Harmer, were set to appear on Season 14 of "American Ninja Warrior," the reality show that sees contestants grapple with increasingly difficult obstacle courses.

Despite her undeniable athletic mettle, Skinner did not take on a competitive role in the series. Rather, it was Harmer who participated in the challenges and showed off his athletic skills; Skinner sat in the commentary booth and cheered on her beau as part of a special couple's episode. Though the obstacle course would likely have proved a seamless challenge for her, Skinner had initially declined an offer to appear on the show in a competitive capacity.

For Skinner, it wasn't the best experience. "We show up, and out of all the ten couples they both were like veterans ... At least every single one of them had been on the show before, even if they weren't previously doing it anymore ... Yeah, I was like, 'I don't want to do this anymore,'" she said in a reaction video uploaded to her YouTube channel. "This is dumb. Because I thought, like, we could win." Despite the misrepresentation from the producers, Skinner still had fun dipping her toes into reality TV (even if she's declared that she'll never do it again).

After the Tokyo Olympics, MyKayla Skinner took her exodus from gymnastics as an opportunity to get back into education. After a lengthy hiatus from college, she headed back to the University of Utah to study communications and journalism. In a day-in-the-life video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Skinner opened up about the challenges of going back to school. "Every time I go I get really stressed," she said of attending lectures. "Like, for some reason I get, like, really bad anxiety with school because I just feel, like, I'm not naturally smart, so it just makes things a lot worse." She also urged her fans not to give up on education, claiming that dropping out and resuming studies makes the experience all the more daunting.

In a separate YouTube video, she explained that she planned on taking a break from work after graduating from college. "I don't really want to work right away," she said. "I've been doing, like, a lot of camps and a lot of different things, but I don't really know if I'll jump right into that." In time, however, she said that she hoped to pursue her dream of lending her expert analysis to Olympic events. However, following the birth of her daughter in 2023, Skinner revealed that she had no plans to pursue that dream any time soon; rather, her degree would be something to fall back on if she ever got tired of being a stay-at-home mom.

As a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, religion plays a vital role in MyKayla Skinner's life. Speaking to Church News in 2022, she opened up about how her beliefs had deepened following her farewell to the world of gymnastics. "One of the great things about being a member of the Church is knowing that there is so much more to my life than just gymnastics," she explained. "I know that that can be hard for a lot of [retired] athletes, especially in the gym world ... But the blessings that we have — like being sealed in the temple for all eternity — give me a bigger picture." Additionally, she said that she wanted to use her platform to inspire other young people to embrace theistic worship, which she argued would provide them with hope. "I'd just like to help the younger generation know that life is going to be hard," she said, "but you can get through it through Christ."

Following her retirement, Skinner has been able to devote more time to religious devotion. In a Q&A video posted on her YouTube channel, she revealed that her faith only grew following the birth of her first child in 2023. "It makes me feel, like, how can there not be a God, because, like, how does that just happen?" she asked, gesturing towards her baby.

In September 2023, MyKayla Skinner and her husband, Jonas Harmer, welcomed their first child together. "Everyone welcome Lottie!" Harmer wrote in a joint Instagram post with his wife. "Charlotte Jane Harmer made a safe arrival yesterday afternoon! Mom & baby are happy and healthy. We couldn't ask for more."

While there are many Olympic athletes who live insanely lavish lives, MyKayla Skinner has chosen to lead a more low-key existence in Utah since her retirement, focusing on family life. In her YouTube Q&A video, the former athlete revealed that she now devotes herself to being a stay-at-home mom, something that she had apparently always wanted to do. "I mean, I've always just wanted to be a stay-at-home mom if, like, Jonas is making money and we're doing good," she explained. "I mean, if I had to work, I would."

In her chat with Inside Gymnastics Magazine, Skinner discussed whether she would support her daughter potentially following the same career path as her. "I don't know if I could have her in gymnastics because I can't handle the politics, but it would just be so fun to start her in it, see if she likes it, see where she can go or whatever she ends up doing," she said. "I'm just so excited to be her cheerleader ... I feel like I can just help her in so many different ways and be that example and lead her to success."

Since leaving the world of gymnastics behind, MyKayla Skinner has ventured into entrepreneurship. Seeing as she's known for her impressive leotard collection, it's only natural that Skinner would launch her own line of leotards. She has partnered with OZONE and, following the birth of her daughter, created the "Charlotte" leotard. The garment, which was presumably named in tribute to Skinner's daughter, features an eye-grabbing floral design that evidently reflects the former Olympian's creative flair. Skinner wore OZONE leotards throughout her professional career, so it was a fitting partnership.

Continuing with her passion for fashion, she partnered with clothing brand Love Olive Co in September 2023, launching a line of maternity wear, shoes, and jewelry. Moreover, she promoted high-end baby clothing store Miriia towards the end of 2023. Skinner and the brand collaborated on a delicate white lace dress, again named after the gymnast's daughter. "The Charlotte is a delicate lace dress designed lovingly with your sweet baby girl in mind," the company wrote on Instagram.

These days, MyKayla Skinner is keeping super busy as a social media influencer. She has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, where she mostly posts lifestyle and mommy blogging content. She has a similarly large following on her titular YouTube channel, which often features Skinner and her husband participating in family vlogging. 

Transitioning from Olympic silver medallist to mommy influencer may seem like an unusual career path, but Skinner wanted to be a blogger as far back as 2016. However, due to NCAA rules, she was unable to post monetized content on social media. Skinner and her husband did document her Olympics journey on the former's YouTube channel.

And now that she is retired, Skinner's content pivots more towards lifestyle than sport. "It's so different, and again, I'm good at gymnastics. I could talk about gymnastics all day, every day," she told Tubefilter in 2023. "It's weird transitioning into like fashion and mom life because it's all so new to me but I think that's what people love about it because we're being real." With her account, Skinner has said that she hopes to document the less glamorous aspects of motherhood, thereby normalizing these struggles in a bid to help fellow moms. "I want to be real with everybody because a lot of people don't talk about how hard postpartum is and having a baby is," she explained.

These days, MyKayla Skinner is heavily involved in motivational speaking, teaching people to persevere through adversity in order to pursue their dreams. In her chat with Inside Gymnastics Magazine, she said that her venture into motivational speaking was spurred by a sudden apathy towards the world of competitive gymnastics. "Just going into motherhood and doing all the new things – I don't just want to be part of the gymnastics world, I want to do more public speaking," she told Inside Gymnastics Magazine. "I want to motivate a lot of people to never give up and keep chasing their dreams like I did. And if you keep doing that, anything is possible, anything can happen."

Skinner also has her own eponymous foundation, which is focused on efforts to raise money for pediatric cancer research. In 2024, she lent her name to "The Never Give Up With MyKayla Skinner Invitational Tour," which hosted sporting competitions to benefit cancer charities.

Not all of Skinner's charitable efforts have been innocuous, however. Back in 2022, for instance, the retired Olympian was criticized on social media for partnering with the Anasazi Foundation, which offers youngsters wilderness therapy. Later that year, The Guardian published an exposé on the alleged abuse that occurs at wilderness camps, referencing Anasazi multiple times (however, some of the camp's alumni said that Anasazi was a positive experience).

Though she has a close relationship with Simone Biles, MyKayla Skinner drew the ire of her pal — not to mention the international Olympics community — when she made some rather off-kilter remarks in 2024. In a since-deleted YouTube video, Skinner, who was an alternate on Márta Károlyi's final Olympic team, claimed that the 2024 U.S. Olympic team lacked worth ethic. She blamed this on SafeSport, an organization set up to protect athletes from abuse. "The girls just don't have the work ethic," she said (via E! News). "And it's hard too because of SafeSport. Like, coaches can't get on athletes and they have to be really careful what they say." 

The remarks read particularly insensitive considering the abuse suffered by many U.S. gymnasts. Namely, Simone Biles has bravely spoken of her personal tragedy in the wake of being abused by gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving 40 to 175 years in prison. "Not everyone needs a mic and a platform," Biles wrote on Threads, seemingly in response to Skinner.

In an Instagram Story (via People) posted after the backlash, Skinner insisted that her words had been misconstrued. She then issued a formal apology on her Instagram's main feed. "I am coming to terms that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Márta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments," she wrote. "I take full responsibility for what I said and I deeply apologize."