Michael Phelps Is Going to Be a Dad
Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson (Photo: Getty Images)
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps has a big year ahead.
The 30-year-old swimmer’s calendar includes not only reaching the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but also an altogether new challenge: fatherhood. He and fiancée Nicole Johnson, a 30-year-old former Miss California, are expecting their first child.
(Instagram)
“We found out 8 weeks ago we were expecting,” he captioned a photo of he and Johnson on Instagram. “Today we’re over 12 weeks and it looks like we’re having a boy!!! #babymp #mp #lifeabouttochange #mpswim @djnolan5."
Phelps and Johnson had been dating on and off for eight years before they announced their engagement this past February.
In April, as Phelps announced his plan to compete in the Olympics in Rio, he told his hometown newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, that the decision to marry Johnson was easy. However, he noted that the wedding wouldn’t take place until after the Olympics.
"I said to a couple of my friends if I ever had a chance to get her back, that would be it,” he said. “She was the one that I loved the most. I never wanted to have a what if, and I told her exactly how I felt."
The couple have endured some tough times. Phelps, who was first arrested for DUI in 2004, was arrested on the same charge in September, prompting him to check into a six-week, in-patient rehab program for treatment. As a result, the USA Swimming Team suspended him for six months. He’s pledged not to drink until after Rio.
The dad-to-be has since proven that he remains the one to beat in the pool. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported he was the "dominant” competitor at a pre-Olympics event.
