When Simone Biles sat down for her interview with El País in Madrid, she did so as an 11-time Olympic gold medalist on a break from active competition for almost two years. Even as she gives her mind and body the time to recover from the pressures of being a world-class athlete, there is something that she lost that she fears may never return.

“I’d say the only thing I’ve lost is privacy,” Biles said about the one thing she lost by being at the very top. “And believe me, that can be very hard, especially when you want to be a normal person again. In any case, more than a loss, I try to see it as just another reality of my daily life. I’m very grateful to be in the position I’m in.”

When asked whether she could learn to live without privacy, the 29-year-old shared a dark reality check.

“You don’t learn—it just happens,” Biles added. “When you’re in the spotlight, and everyone watches you, your privacy fades away, disappears. Everyone starts photographing you with every step you take. And it’s not something you ask for. It just comes with it. I was very good at gymnastics, and the rest came with that. I wish I could recover the privacy I had before.”

While Biles understands the position she is in, it hasn’t been easy for the vault and floor exercise specialist. Just last month, Biles was in Madrid for the Laureus World Sports Awards 2026. The event celebrates the best athletes in the world and their achievements in sports over the previous year. However, for Biles, it became a reminder of her lost privacy. 

While in Madrid, several overzealous fans of hers waited outside her hotel room in hopes of a meeting with the star. Biles often makes time for her fans to take pictures and show love to her supporters, but this wasn’t one of those moments. She took to her Instagram story to call out the behavior of her hardcore supporters. 

“Okay, I [really] love how passionate and dedicated y’all are, BUT I have to be honest,” she wrote. “It really makes me anxious when you stand outside of the hotel all day. Can we please please please love from afar 🤍🫶🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽 & respect privacy xx.”

Such invasions of privacy, however, are nothing new for the 29-year-old. Back in 2016, Simone Biles experienced an even more disturbing incident.

When hackers leaked Simone Biles personal information

Back in 2016, Simone Biles became one of several American athletes targeted by a Russian hacking group, “Fancy Bear.” They breached the World Anti-Doping Agency’s database and leaked confidential medical records from the Rio Olympics. 

The group claimed the documents showed athletes had received “medical exemptions to use banned drugs,” and accused WADA and the IOC’s medical department of being “corrupt and deceitful.” However, Olympic officials strongly defended the athletes involved. 

In a statement, the IOC clarified that “the athletes mentioned did not violate any anti-doping rules during the Olympic Games.” Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, also condemned the attack, calling it “cyber-bullying of innocent athletes” that was “cowardly and despicable.”

WADA later revealed hackers likely gained access through “spear phishing of email accounts.” The incident exposed sensitive personal information and sparked widespread concerns over athlete privacy and cybersecurity in sports.

In an increasingly digital world, where celebrity culture thrives on constant visibility, being at the top of your game has become a double-edged sword. Fame and privacy rarely coexist, and one often comes at the cost of the other. For Simone Biles, that reality has become an exhausting burden, one she seemingly wishes she could escape.