What We Know About Olympic Gymnast Suni Lee's Relationship With Jaylin Smith

When Simone Biles debuted her relationship with NFL player Jonathan Owens, the media fell in love with the athletic power couple. But Biles isn't the only gymnast to find romance with a football player. Sunisa "Suni" Lee, who's part of the USA women's Olympic gymnast team for 2024, hard-launched her relationship with cornerback Jaylon Smith in December 2021.

While Lee has established herself as an artistic gymnast, earning the title of all-around champion at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, Smith has been making his name in college football. The California native plays for the University of Southern California, being named Defense MVP for his performance during the 2023 Holiday Bowl game. Smith also appeared on the Netflix docu-series "Coach Snoop" in 2016, quickly becoming a fan favorite.

The two make for quite the cute couple, posing together in a now-deleted post on Lee's Instagram. The photo, which publicly debuted the relationship, was simply captioned with a white heart. However, not much is known about the low-key relationship, and it's possible that the two athletes have gone their separate ways.

While the details of Sunisa Lee and Jaylin Smith's romance have been kept private, Lee has opened up about some of the backlash she faced after going public with the relationship. In 2021, the TikTok user @alixvangphom posted a clip in support of the Olympic gymnast and her Instagram hard launch. "I know that Sunisa will be judged by certain eyes in the Hmong Community because her man is Black," the user wrote. "LOVE is LOVE, no matter what race or gender you are. Keep doing you QUEEN."

Lee is of Hmong ancestry, an Indigenous ethnic group originating from China and Southeast Asia. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Laos. In 2020, she made history, becoming both the first Hmong American gymnast to compete in the Olympics and the first woman of Asian descent to earn the sport's all-around title. While she is seen as making great strides for the Hmong community, her interracial relationship seems to have stirred up some controversy.

"This makes me so happy," Lee wrote under the supportive video, though comments have since been turned off. "I've received so much hate ... [T]hey support me when it's beneficial for them never when it comes to my happiness. thank you!" (via PopSugar). While it's disheartening to know that Lee's relationship faced unwarranted backlash, it's reassuring to see that she still has fans in her corner.

Though Suni Lee and Jaylin Smith publicly shared their relationship in 2021, the two haven't been active in their romantic updates. In fact, the original Instagram posts shared in December are no longer available, suggesting that the two may have parted ways. However, neither athlete has publicly commented on or confirmed a breakup, so their relationship status is unknown. However, both Lee and Smith have provided updates on other aspects of their lives.

Lee documented the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, posting snapshots from the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and a celebratory team picture. The Minnesota native has also been busy collaborating with brands like GK Elite and Batiste, as well as partnering with the American Kidney Fund to share her personal experience with kidney disease. Meanwhile, Smith appears to be gearing up for the final year of his college football career, sharing that he's re-signed with USC nonprofit collective known as House of Victory. These two athletes clearly have a lot going for them, whether or not they're still romantically linked.