“I could cry about it on the spot. It felt like I lost a part of me,” Shawn Johnson East said to Hoda Kotb of her eight-year rift with Nastia Liukin. The pair were inseparable leading up to and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “C’mon, Shawn,” Nastia Liukin shouted, cheering Johnson during her routine before the 2008 Olympic all-around final. Hours later, the two roommates in the Olympic Village were still trying to take it all in, with Nastia saying, “We were like, ‘can you believe it’s really here?’” But the next day everything changed.

Nastia Liukin won gold, Shawn Johnson took silver, and after the Games, they drifted apart and did not talk for years. Now, 16 years later, Shawn Johnson has opened up about the real reason behind that silence in a conversation with Hoda Kotb on Joy 101.

Everything was Hunky-Dory leading up to the Beijing Olympics, Johnson recalled. The voices took over right after their win for the USA. In Shawn’s words, “You had agents, and you had sponsors, and you had newspapers back in the day, not even social media, thank God, saying it was always her or I.”

Shawn was 16, and Nastia was 18; they were still kids, dealing with a situation that had suddenly become larger than themselves. “We didn’t know how to navigate that after the Olympics…” That pressure turned into silence. Shawn admitted they didn’t really see or speak to each other for eight years. Even though they didn’t follow each other on social media, they still kept an eye on each other. Neither had the other’s phone number. “It’s not because we didn’t want to speak,” she said, “we just didn’t really interact for eight years.”

The silent cold war never felt simple. She described it as losing someone who truly understood her. Shawn said. “She’s the only one who really understands me on that level, and I’m the only one who understands her on that level.” Years later, both of them were in relationships when the weight of that silence finally broke.

Shawn shared that their partners pushed them to reconnect after hearing the same stories over and over. That’s when she finally sent Nastia an email. “If you don’t respond, I totally get it,” she wrote. “Just know that I love you. I miss my best friend. I support you in everything you do.” Nastia saw it during a bathroom break during a New York Times interview, got emotional, and replied almost immediately.

They met in New York soon after, talked everything through, and slowly rebuilt what had been lost. Shawn’s wedding with Andrew East was fast approaching at the time, and Nastia had not received an invitation. But after the pair made up, Liukin made it to the Nashville wedding.

Today, Shawn Johnson East says the bond is back where it belongs. “We’re inseparable, we are best friends,” she said. And now both of them have moved forward in life, while their friendship has found its way back in its own quiet form.

Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson are living different lives after Olympics

Nastia Liukin is still remembered as one of the most decorated gymnasts of her generation. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won five medals, including the individual all-around gold, becoming one of the standout stars of the Games. Across her career, she also earned nine World Championship medals. After years at the top, she retired at just 22 following a difficult run at the London Olympic Trials, where she fell on uneven bars and missed the Olympic team.

Stepping away from competition opened a different chapter. She graduated from New York University and slowly built a career beyond gymnastics. Today, she works in media and broadcasting, often appearing as an Olympic analyst and correspondent for NBC. She also stays closely tied to the sport through mentoring roles and events like the Nastia Liukin Cup, which gives younger gymnasts a platform to grow.

Shawn Johnson built her own legacy differently but with the same impact. At just 16 during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she became one of the faces of the Games, winning team gold, balance beam gold, and two silver medals in the all-around and floor exercise. Before that, she had already claimed the 2007 World All-Around title and the 2008 U.S. All-Around Championship.

She retired from gymnastics in 2012. Once retired, she embarked on a new life in the outside world. She went on to win Dancing with the Stars in 2009 and eventually became an author, podcast host, and entrepreneur.  Today, she lives in Nashville with her family and children, balancing motherhood with media and business work while staying connected to her athletic past.