I hope you guys will be excited about this as I am. We been discussing Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps for months. Every time we talk about Michael, his fiancée, Nicole Johnson, is mentioned but rarely featured because she doesn’t give many interviews. When she was 17 and a student at Moorpark College, Nicole entered a local beauty pageant so she could win a scholarship and transfer to University of Southern California. In 2007, she graduated with honors from USC with a BA in Communications. In 2010, she won Miss California. She and Michael have been together for eight years off and on. Plus, she is mother to the Mighty Baby Boomer who almost stole the spotlight from his dad in Rio. Cosmopolitan sat down with Nicole and asked about how life will be for their family now that Michael is retired. Cosmo also asked about wedding plans and about Nicole and Michael’s split. Below are some highlights.
On romance: What I see as being romantic is probably different from what other people see as being romantic. For me, those moments are shared together at home. I always expected him to roll over one morning and propose to me in bed. I never expected something extreme, like other people would do it in front of others or they’d do it out on a cliff somewhere.
On her training and career: Yeah, so when I graduated from [the University of Southern California,] I expected to be working in the sports field … my dream job would have been reporting on Formula One. That went out the window, obviously, when Michael and I started dating — his career essentially came first. I moved to Ann Arbor so we could be together because he was going into Beijing. I put what I expected to do with my life on hold, but that was all my own decision. So when I came back, I tried to get into sports and ended up selling cars and had a lot of fun with that. In terms of using my degree, I started working for YP; I signed on as director of communications. And now I’m volunteering with Michael’s foundation on their marketing side. In a really, really roundabout way, I’m back to where I wanted to be to start.
On her split with Michael: It was definitely bad timing. Michael and I both know that had we tried to have a child and get married in the previous time we were together, it probably would not have ended pretty. We both had a lot of growing up to do. We both had a lot of learning about ourselves to do. I don’t think you can be in a good relationship unless you love yourself to the fullest and you want to help the other person become a better person. We definitely needed that time apart to recognize that about ourselves and to appreciate one another.On loving and hating him: There definitely were times, and I think Michael would say the same thing, where I hated him. We were at odds at times. Even when I loathed him, there were still times when I was like, “God, I wish I was with him.”
You can read thefull interview here. Nicole also discusses adding to their family, date nights and the popularity of Michael’s “bulge.” She is fairly laid back as a person and her answers reflect that, she doesn’t get flustered by much. But the sense I get is that she is no wallflower, either. She isn’t sitting at home pining for Michael’s attention, she understood that she made a choice to be in a relationship with an Olympic athlete and that that would require a lot of sacrifice on her part. She doesn’t want adulation (well, maybe from Michael) or sympathy, she just states what it is. My guess would be that that type of commitment on her part played into the breakup. It’s very hard to give up so much of yourself and be asked to give up more, even if the reason is something worthy like the Olympics. Plus, as she said, they were different people before. I loved her answer about how working for Michael’s foundation has allowed her to pursue her interests career-wise. People forget that volunteering is no less work and I am happy she has found that fulfillment.
In case you don’t already know, Baby Boomer has his own Instagram account, which both Nicole and Michael said they never expected to become as popular as it has. That hasn’t stopped Michael from promoting it, though. He said that while they were at the VMAs last weekend, he was “walking out with a couple of Beyoncé’s people” (like you do) and Michael told them they should follow Boomer on Instagram to which they replied, “Really, we already do.” Beyoncé’s people follow Baby Boomer!
Photo credit: WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos, Getty Images and Instagram
Aw, cute couple with an adorable baby. Good luck to them.
He is a cute baby, but I give serious side-eye to people who post so many pictures of their young children on social media. That baby has no say in the matter and by the time he figures out what social media is, he will already have a detailed, public history of his life posted for all the world to see.
I know that’s an unpopular opinion with some mamas, but every time I go on Facebook I thank God that I was born too early for my mother to post all about my life.
I hear you. I know a couple people who post more pictures of their kids in a week than I have in the past 5-7 years. For some reason the Boomer IG account doesn’t bug me as much, at this point anyway. As the kid gets older, if it’s still active I would definitely side eye it.
ITA. I show friends pics from my phone daily but no pictures of my kids on social media. Ever.
Also, the kids is photographed only wearing MP branded apparel – please. Did they plan to have a kid for the photo ops at the olympics? He’s cute, but about 3 months too young for it to be really impactful. A baby of 6 to 8 months would have made for better photos. I’m not advocating having a baby for PR purposes, but I feel like that’s what Boomer’s life so far has been about – poor kid!
Sound like they did a lot of work and growing to get to the place where they are now. I admire that esp since people forget relationships are hard and add in the unique circumstances of their situation and it’s even harder in some aspects
Also Boomer is the cutest I follow him too. They post some nice photos on there
That baby really is just the cutest thing. The name is even starting to grow on me a bit, I think!
Phelps is one lucky guy.
With the risk of sounding like a broken record, I wish more women that love their careers and don’t want to give them up would have the option to find partners that are understanding and supportive of them.
It just seems like professional women rarely have this kind of happy endings.
I am a sad broken record.
So true mama. Sometimes, men gotta put their egos aside and let women take the rein. It’s gotta go both ways. If he’s expecting it from her, then he’s gotta be able to sacrifice as well.
Wait, did I read the whole thing wrong? She graduates with honors and dreams of a career with Formula One. Instead she gives up her dreams to move to Michigan for a boyfriend. Now she has his baby and now she’s doing marketing for her boyfriend/baby daddy’s charity. Did I miss the part where he is supporting her professional dreams?
The OP is saying that she wishes there were more opportunities. Not that Phelps’ fiancee working for his foundation is the same thing at all.
No, you are right, ladysussex. Als is saying that this woman give up a lot to support her partner. It would be nice if more men did the same for their partners.
She sounds like a nice woman, and they seem like a well suited couple. I don’t understand why the wife of an athlete who isn’t famous on her own is getting an interview, but what do I know.
She is famous on her own, she was Miss California in 2010. You can debate the merits of pageants, sure, but it’s not like she’s an unknown waitress thrust into the spotlight. She accomplished something, too. Lots of former beauty queens give interviews.
Cosmo isn’t digging up every Miss Cali from a decade ago and giving her an interview. Nicole got this interview because she’s Michael’s fiancée and Boomer’s mom, which got her a lot of attention during the Olympics.
Kourtney kardashian is on the cover of Cosmo. I would way rather read an interview about this person that any of the K’s.
Kourtney Kardashian is famous. How she got famous is debatable, but she is very very famous.
I guess I’m just tired of celebrating women because they’re pretty and married “well”.
If she’s Miss California or whatever and famous on her own, I stand corrected.
I like her a lot, so I’m glad you posted this story!
Great story! Good luck to them!
I love Nicole and I love Boomer’s Instagram! Any time you post stories about this family I will definitely read them!
After 8 years she knows him well – and she is still willing to marry him. I don’t understand it at all. She sounds straightforward and sensible, but I wonder how much his fame was actually a factor. I’d rather be single!
Maybe she’s with him because she loves him? I can think of many couples who seem oddly suited but are going strong.
She sounds like she loves him if she gave up pursuing a sports career for him.
I have to admit I didn’t realize that level of sacrifice was required to be with an Olympic athlete, mainly because I don’t get what she can really do for him in terms of athletics. Is it a moral support thing? I know tennis players have their girlfriends travel with them and I’ve always wondered how Roger Federer’s wife manages not to get bored out of her skull just sitting there watching tennis day after day (and, hey, I like tennis well enough), but other than that I can’t figure out what the spouse or girlfriend could do for an athlete in terms of his career. Do they help the athlete stay focused? Is it about staying in the same location? (She said she had to move to Ann Arbor for him, but I wasn’t sure why staying there would necessarily be a huge hindrance in terms of a communications career). Because Phelps is already rich and an entire system/team organizes his schedule, I figure she wouldn’t have to stay home to cook meals to keep him sustained the way a medical student’s wife might have to do. These are genuine questions I’m asking, not facetious or judgy ones. She seems likable to me, so I’m definitely not judging her, and it does sound like she now gets to do what she wanted to do originally. I just didn’t realize that dating an athlete could take a toll on your own time that way.
@perplexed: that’s a reasonable question. And the part that she’s glossed over is that these two weren’t together for the full 8 years – not even close. But essentially, if you want to work in sports, you need to be prepared to relocate or travel. Her choosing to be in Ann Arbor would have drastically limited her career choices, essentially her only option would have been working as a part of Team Phelps or the University.
Some wives get involved in the business side, some are just moral support. They may not be a part of the highly paid team, but they end up eating and breathing the sport too, and basically have to agree to make the athlete’s career the #1 priority in their lives, because athletes tend to have a comparatively short shelf life.
Eh, if she’s known him for 8 years, she knows him better than we do.
Is… Boomer the real name of that kid?
I was hoping I read it wrong. Still hoping.
She seems like a cool person, all good in my book. I still remember that insane woman who claimed to be his real partner and soulmate, and whose Facebook profile spinned around him and their alleged relationship.
What happened to that lady? I remember Phelps never responded to anything.
Are you talking about the 40-ish trans woman who made porn films acting out her “relationship” with him? She was recently on Heather McDonald’s podcast. She’s still trying hard to spin her hookup with him into fame.
I find it interesting that she and Phelps got back together, because they broke up for a long time (anyone else remember the blond he brought to London) and in their earlier years Phelps wasn’t exactly advertising the fact that he had a girlfriend.
I’ve read now an interview from each of them stating (in their own words) that they broke up with good reasons at the time, but eventually realized that the other was sort of ‘the one that got away.’ I relate to that a lot in my own life, as my husband and I split for a portion of our relationship early on and found our way back to each other, and we were under far less pressure and scrutiny. We each credit that time apart as the reason we are happily married today (6 years) and the parents of a little girl with another on the way. We were dumb 20 somethings… I couldn’t imagine being a famous, dumb 20 something with seemingly endless cash and opportunities at my disposal!
She sounds like a wonderful grounded person who can hold her own! I get what she means by hating someone and still wishing you were with them – my deepest relationship was exactly like that
I was so pumped to find out Nicole is a female F1 nerd! Nicole, please get back into this ASAP since Michael is retiring. Go join the Sky Sports crew; they could use another awesome woman on the team besides Rachel Brookes. (I know international commutes would be no laughing matter – so maybe you can relocate your family to Britain for a few years? No big deal, right?)
Uhh is that a picture of their 3 month old baby in a forward-facing car seat? Tell me that’s not the case, please.
Hard to tell which way it is facing.
She seems nice and grounded, but her mom taught at my kids middle school and had an affair with my friends husband and they were both flahrant about it. The divorce was ugly and left my friend and their children in a lot of pain. Her mom and my friends husband are aholes.
She seems nice and grounded, but her mom taught at my kids middle school and had an affair with my friends husband(after meeting him through his kid who had her class) and they were both flagrant about it. The divorce was ugly and left my friend and their children in a lot of pain. Her mom and my friends husband are aholes.