Photo: Chantal Elise Photography
Chris Brooks and Jordyn Wieber are now soon-to-be husband and wife!
The former Olympic gymnasts are engaged, they reveal exclusively to PEOPLE. Brooks, 34, proposed over the weekend in Michigan, where Wieber, 26, was being inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
Wieber adds, “We designed the ring together a few weeks ago, but I had no idea it was ready or when he was gonna propose. Definitely didn’t expect him to show up in Michigan.”
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PHOTO: Chantal Elise PhotographyPHOTO: Chantal Elise Photography
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Wieber and Brooks met in 2011 when they were both competing on the World Championship team in Tokyo.
“We both continued training and I made the 2012 Olympic team and he made the 2016 Olympic team. We remained friends for five years and then reconnected on the 2016 post-Olympic tour and started dating,” she recalls. “We were long-distance for three years before we both moved to Arkansas to coach together at the university. We’ve been together for five years now.”
Chantal Elise Photography
Though she retired from competing in 2015, Wieber has been among the top gymnasts speaking out against sexual abuse in the sport. ShetoldThe Detroit Newsat the MSHOF induction event Friday that she wants to “protect the younger gymnasts.”
“It’s been a journey these past few years, just fighting for accountability and fighting some of the organizations that really failed us and didn’t protect us throughout our training, and competition, in the Olympics,” said Wieber.
“Really, my motivation and the responsibility I feel is to protect the younger gymnasts that are coming up through the ranks now, and really wanting a safe and healthy environment for them to train and compete in,” she added. “That, right there, gives me a lot of motivation to keep speaking out, keep being an advocate for them and keep being an advocate for all survivors and victims of child sexual abuse.”
source: people.com
