Michael Phelps is Now Engaged to Former Miss California Nicole Johnson
Michael Phelps just got engaged to long-time steady girlfriend Nicole Johnson, a former Miss California who placed in the top 10 at the Miss USA 2010 beauty pageant. Both are 29 years old and both made the announcement of their engagement Saturday via their respective Instagram pages accompanied with a photo of Johnson embracing and laying on top of Phelps on the snow, showing off a sparkling ring with the two grinning from ear to ear. Phelps captioned his post: "She said yes." Phelps on her page wrote: "I'm gonna be a Mrs." The photo was taken by Phelp's training partner Allison Schmitt who is herself an Olympian and champion swimmer.
Phelps, a 22-time Olympic medalist, is the world record holder in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley swimming events. Until recently, he was also the world record holder in the 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley. He is a seven-time winner of the World Swimmer of the Year Award. He was named Sportsman of the Year in 2008 by Sports Illustrated. After the 2012 Olympics where he won 4 gold and 2 silver medals, he announced his retirement and began focusing more on his Michael Phelps Foundation which aims to grow the sport of swimming and promote healthier lifestyles. In April 2014, came out of retirement and is now back in competitive swimming.
The soon-to-be Mrs. Phelps began competing in beauty pageants when she was 17 to help pay for her education. Nicole graduated from the University of Southern California in 2007 with honors and a communications degree. Her mother, Annette Johnson, a seventh-grade science teacher in an old interview with Thousand Oaks Acorn said: "When Nicole decides to do something she does not quit until she achieves what she set out to do..... She has gained confidence, scholarship money for college; it helped her prepare for college as well as get into USC, and the connections she has made along the way in friendships and business will benefit her forever." As for Nicole herself, in a 2012 interview with Page Six, she said: "The one thing we [she and Phelps] have in common is that neither of us have ever talked to the media about our personal life."