From the outside, Shawn Johnson and Andrew East seem to have a pretty solid marriage.
But of course, their journey hasn't always been an easy one. From growing their family,
to laying it all on the table, here's what makes Shawn and Andrew's marriage work.
Ever wonder who made the first move? Spoiler alert: It was Johnson. On a January 2020 episode
of their podcast, "Couple Things with Shawn Johnson and Andrew East," the gymnast revealed
exactly what went down. At the 2012 Olympics, Johnson went to watch a friend compete in
a cycling race. She spent the time chatting with her friend's teammate, Guy East, who
happens to be Andrew's brother. And Guy eagerly tried to set Johnson and East up.
Since it should co me as no surprise that former Olympian Shawn Johnson goes after what
she really wants — and usually gets it — she took to Twitter, fueled by a little wine,
clicked that little DM envelope, and wrote to Andrew: "Come to LA?"
Elated to get the message, East texted his dad who encouraged him to go. Side note: the
football star revealed that the only reason he created a Twitter account in the first
place was to be able to contact Johnson. But when Johnson woke up the next morning, it's
safe to say she might have had a few regrets. She remembered,
"I was like, first, ‘what have I done?’ Second, who is this guy who just gets a random
text message at midnight saying fly across the country and he does it?"
"Desperate. Um…"
"You booty texted me. I'm not gonna take all the heat on this."
While their love story may have blossomed in the DMs, things quickly got serious IRL.
The many swoon-worthy moments that fill Johnson and East's Instagram feeds will have you scrolling
with "all the feels" for hours on end. But we get the sense that their cuteness isn't
just magnified to cultivate a social media "highlight reel."
"We love each other." "We do."
"Like crazy."
"Yes. That is the truest thing."
For example, back when they were dating and East was finishing his master's degree, he
would visit Johnson's apartment at 9 p.m. after a long day, armed with her favorite
snack — honey crisp apples. Johnson said this little gesture made her feel loved, adding,
"It meant so much to me, and it was so little. It was the sweetest thing. It made me feel
so special."
As it turns out, Johnson was the one that initiated the first "I love you." East shared
the story, recalling,
"The way she first told me 'I love you' was when I was going to Vanderbilt. She Post-It-Noted
my entire dorm room — every inch, like in 'Bruce Almighty.' And then on one Post-It
Note at the bottom of my closet, she wrote, 'I love you.'"
Johnson added a little backstory to the sweet gesture, remembering,
"I went to Walgreens like twelve times. And you never said you found it; you didn't say
anything. But then I was in your dorm room one day and saw you had taken the Post-It
Note off and put it on your notebook."
In a March 2020 episode of their podcast, Johnson and East discussed how they schedule
monthly conversations to talk about how they're feeling, how they think things are going between
them, and what they need from one another. The check-ins officially began when Johnson
noticed that every time East wanted to have some sort of big, relationship-defining talk,
he asked if they could go to the Frothy Monkey coffee shop in their hometown, Nashville,
Tennessee. Though she kind of dreaded it at the time, Johnson said she realized it was
actually productive to dedicate a time to openly give each other feedback and discuss
what they need. East said these sorts of constructive discussions help them grow into their best
selves, as a couple.
"The criticism you give your significant other will never leave them."
There are a few ground rules, though. Johnson said they never do these chats at home. This
helps ensure that their home space isn't tainted with any stress that might come up, and it
helps create a defined border around the check-in time, and regular life. Their second rule
is to schedule them in advance rather than jump into one spontaneously. This helps them
go into the conversation with a calm, neutral mind rather than in an emotionally heightened
state.
As for your chances at spotting this power couple out at Frothy Monkey? Slim to none.
They started stopping by other coffee shops because Johnson admits she's still feeling
the effects from too many stressful Frothy Monkey-based talks in their early days.
Johnson suffered a devastating miscarriage on her road to starting a family. After the
loss, it took the Easts nearly two years to really heal as a couple and feel ready to
try to get pregnant again. Describing the rollercoaster of emotions they had to navigate
personally and in their relationship, Johnson told the "Hot Marriage, Cool Parents" podcast,
"With any miscarriage, it's such a loss because the second you find out you are pregnant,
your mind just switches. You become a parent. It was a time of a lot of tension because
of emotion, and we didn't know how to navigate it. I felt so sad and guilty that I had done
something to lose this child."
"Having a doctor confirm that…you miscarried doesn't feel good."
Ultimately, the couple was blessed with their daughter, Drew, in 2019. Noting the journey
they had been through, Shawn said,
"It definitely brought us closer. It caused more arguments — just with frustrations
— than we've ever had in our entire relationship, but it also ended up bringing us closer together
in learning how to love each other and support each other through hard times."
If you think that the best marriages are always smooth sailing, think again. The Easts admit
that they argue, but also consider conflict to be healthy in any relationship. In a January
2020 episode of their podcast, Johnson and East revealed that there are three things
they argue about most: their roles, parenthood, and feeling unappreciated.
While it might seem surprising that they've pegged their top three hot-button issues,
this awareness is deliberate. The duo thinks it's helpful to identify triggers and patterns
in arguments in order to prevent disagreements from spiraling into emotional blowups. In
the East household, the biggest trigger is being overtired. Johnson admitted,
"We are well aware that we argue and we fight when we are sleep deprived, and over things
we are passionate about, and emotional about, and attached to."
East revealed that he wasn't initially sure if it was normal to argue, but learning that
it can be a healthy element, brought him peace. Their constant fighting during wedding planning,
for example, prompted him to research whether other couples found the process stressful
as well. He said,
"Realizing that [it's] normal to have arguments puts me at ease about whatever the topic is
just because it's like, 'Oh, this isn't a make-or-break thing. This is just a normal
thing that causes conflict.'"
Love languages have certainly been among the biggest buzzwords of the past few years. The
brainchild of author Gary Chapman, "love languages" refer to how people prefer to receive and
show love. Johnson and East believe that recognizing your partner's love language is a sure-fire
way to help eliminate the feeling of unappreciation. Johnson said on their podcast in March 2020,
"By default, I think whatever your love language is, is how you try to love your significant
other. However, your significant other's love language could be completely different or
opposite from yours and […] you […] try to remember, […] 'I have to show him love
in a different way.'"
Curious how the East fam stacks up? Before taking the test, the couple both thought they
personally received love from quality time and physical touch. Johnson thought East received
love from words of affirmation. And East thought Johnson thrived on quality time and words
of affirmation. But they were wrong across the board. Johnson preferred acts of service,
quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, and lastly, gifts. And for his part, East
favors acts of service, gifts, quality time, touch, and finally, words of affirmation.
Since the very end of 2019, Johnson and East have been hosting a relationship podcast,
where they share the ins, outs, and intimate details of their own marriage and relationship
history. On the show, the couple speaks candidly about the ups and downs of married life. But
they also make sure to pepper-in plenty of funny memories about their day-to-day lives.
Another big focus of the podcast is interviewing other couples to dig deep into what makes
relationships work, what their struggles are, and what they are working on as a couple.
Some of the notable duos they've talked with include country singer Luke Combs and his
wife, Nicole; Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick from "The Bachelor" franchise; and former
couple Olympian Lindsey Vonn and NHL star P.K. Subban.
Johnson and East admit that, as much as they adore their daughter, Drew, even the greatest
blessings have their challenges. In fact, they shared that adding their daughter to
their tight duo forced them to basically start all over as a couple. Johnson admitted on
the "Off The Vine" podcast,
"It's changed our relationship in every way possible. I think it's the biggest obstacle
in a marriage or relationship because you have to figure out how to keep each other
first in order to both be good for [your child]."
Johnson explained that parenting also reinforced her primary love language, since life as a
mom is so hectic and busy. East now wins the most brownie points for acts of service to
help ease Johnson's load. She said,
"It makes me feel seen and loved if I come home and bottles are washed and laundry is
done!"
The couple revealed that they have a brand new routine now and are no longer night owls,
but that they still manage to keep date night sacred. East told the outlet,
"When you have a baby, there are more opportunities for resentment and to be mad at each other,
so for us to have weekly date nights and put that aside and sit across from each other,
and look each other in the eye is really important."
You can say that Johnson and East are each other's biggest fans, and with that comes
unconditional love and support. And they put this into practice by talking openly with
one another about their struggles with mental health. On a February 2020 episode of their
podcast, Johnson said,
"We think it's really important to talk about baggage because it teaches your significant
other that 'I respond this way because' whereas some people believe, 'let's not talk about
the past, and let's not talk about exes and how we got here because I just want to date
the person that's here.' But there's so much to a person based on what you've gone through."
Johnson has dealt with an eating disorder, due in part to the perfectionism involved
in being an Olympic gymnast. But she found peace through therapy. East has had his own
struggles with anxiety, he was a long-snapper at Vanderbilt and signed with the Kansas City
Chiefs - he faced long odds to make the team. East soon found that the sole focus on football
was overwhelming. His performance suffered so severely that he soon got cut from the
team. He explained on the "Ellie and Jared" podcast,
"I spent like three months literally just hanging out on the couch. I was in a slump.
You get in this echo chamber of somber thoughts."
"Whaaaaaaaaaa…"
In January 2021, the Easts announced that they were expecting their second child. And
a few months later, they were ready for an official gender reveal. East explained on
their East Family YouTube channel,
"So we show up, and I am so nervous. I'm shaking. I feel nauseous. My hands are sweating. […] It
was crazy. I didn't think I was going to be that excited — it was just like, 'Oh, we're
doing a gender reveal, cool' — but the day of, I was super hyped."
The couple's closest family and friends served as the party firing squad, quickly revealing
that Johnson and East were indeed expecting a boy. Johnson said,
"I am so excited. I do not know what to do with a boy. We need all new stuff now, but
it's exciting!"
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