Former Olympian is Cherishing Motherhood
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former Olympian Shawn Johnson East is relishing friendship and motherhood with her best friend, Mallory Ervin.
“We’re like in kids zone and…we really love living right now,” Ervin said on her podcast on July 30.
“Like this past weekend was the most perfect weekend,” East said.
Their families spent time together over the weekend, contentedly shopping for food and watching their kids play together.
“It was so great, and why was it so great? Because it’s like you went to the farmers market and you got the food, and then we like had the dinner, and then our kids are like playing, and our kids play really well,” Ervin said, “and yeah, it wasn’t even peaceful. I wouldn’t call it peaceful because the go-karts that they were riding 100 miles an hour on the concrete sounded like…”
“They’re about to like kill each other,” East chimed in, laughing.
They just slowed down and enjoyed life, not caring where their phones were or stopping to take photos.
“We’re just like living,” Ervin said. “We didn’t we didn’t take any videos or pictures, really. I was like I don’t even know where my phone is…I really like this phase of life.”
“It’s the best,” East said.
The pair have a lot of similarities. They each have three kids — two boys and a girl each, have started their own business and have gone through the same phases of life at the same time.
“Like you and I are similar in the sense of like we spent so much time of our life working for a title or money or achievements or status, and right now like none of it matters anymore,” East said to Ervin. “The most important days of our lives right now are like watching our babies play and be happy and smile, and you just get to be, and it’s just amazing.”
“And it’s like we’re so lucky right now,” Ervin agreed. “Like we’re so blessed, and I know we’ve built a lot of this, but like some of it is just that God has really blessed us with healthy kids and with great husbands and that our business ventures for the most part have worked out. But he also really blessed us with each other because it’s really cool to have a person that has seen so much of what it took to get to the spot that feels like this and…it’s just really cool to have a pal like you,” Ervin said to East.
As an Olympian gold medalist gymnast, East faces a unique challenge when it comes to her children’s potential athletic paths.
“I will be her biggest cheerleader,” East said about if her daughter, Drew, chose to compete in gymnastics, “and whatever she chooses I will say this: I’ve always said this, if Drew proceeds down the gymnastics route — which I really don’t think she will because she’s already not interested. Her thing is ice skating. That’s all she wants to [do] is ice skate — …My biggest fear for her, gymnastics is such a small world. I don’t think anybody would give her a fair chance to be a kid and to fail.”
“I think the greatest gift you can give any kid in any sport in any hobby is like, to fail over and over again just like shamelessly,” East continued.
The expectation of greatness wouldn’t be “fair for her,” East said. “I like that she likes ice skating right now.”
In June, Movieguide® shared a conversation between East and Drew:
East told Drew, “‘God, when he makes all of us, hides these treasures inside of us and we get to spend all of our life finding them’ and she’s like, well, ‘What are the treasures?’ I was like, ‘That’s the cool part.’”
Johnson East shared some of her treasures. She’s a gymnast, wife and mom and is gifted in mathematics.
Drew’s “like, ‘What are some of daddy’s and what are some of nana’s?’” East continued to recall. “And we were just kind of going on the list and she was thinking for a little bit and — I died — she goes, ‘Mommy, I already found one of my treasures.’ I was like, ‘You found a treasure? Are you serious? This is so exciting.’”
“I was like, ‘What is it?’ and she goes, ‘Ice skating.’ Wow,” Johnson East responded. “I was like, ‘Baby, that’s so special. Wow, that’s cool!’”
East is covering the Olympics gymnastics for Yahoo Sports. She took her family with her this summer to the Paris games and to Disneyland Paris.
She loves to see her kids faces “light up with each new experience” as they travel together.”
On Saturday, she posted pictures with the family at Disneyland Paris.
“Another day for the books 🌞🤩⭐️,” she said.
