Who Is Michael Phelps' Wife? All About Nicole Johnson

Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson have been married since 2016 and share four children

Michael Phelps may be the most decorated Olympian, but he isn't the only winning competitor in his family.

The 23-time Olympic gold medalist met his now-wife, Nicole Johnson, in 2007 at the ESPY Awards, and they connected right away. At the time, Johnson was a pageant competitor and model, who would go on to become Miss California USA in 2010, and even place in the top 10 of the Miss USA finals that same year.

After dating on and off for a few years, the couple got engaged in 2015, and later wed in 2016, holding three separate ceremonies. They have since welcomed four sons: Boomer, Beckett, Maverick and Nico.

In addition to being his No. 1 fan, Phelps credits Johnson as his biggest supporter when it comes to his struggles with mental health and depression.

"Nicole has seen me go up and down," Phelps told Today in 2022. "There's no other person that would be able to support me like she has. She's the glue that holds all of us together."

Today, the couple works together to advance mental health initiatives through the Michael Phelps Foundation, where Johnson is an ambassador.

So, who is Michael Phelps' wife? Keep reading for everything there is to know about Nicole Johnson.

She's a former Miss USA contestant and Miss California USA winner

Johnson started competing in pageants at 17 years old, after seeing an ad in a local newspaper promoting Miss California Teenager. She was interested in the scholarship prize, hoping it would help her achieve her goal of transferring from Moorpark College to the University of Southern California. She entered and took the title of first runner-up in a pool of 304 contestants.

Johnson continued to compete in pageants, and her hard work paid off when, at age 24, she won Miss California USA 2010. She was also considered a favorite for Miss USA 2010, where she placed ninth.

She graduated from the University of Southern California and worked in marketing

Johnson graduated from the University of Southern California in 2007, earning a degree in communications, according to her LinkedIn profile.

After winning Miss California USA in 2010, Johnson lent her marketing expertise to the Miss Universe organization and began working as an ambassador for the state of California, recruiting girls for the 2011 competition season. She recruited Alyssa Campanella, the competitor who would go on to win Miss California and Miss USA in 2011.

Beyond that, Johnson worked in marketing for a Mercedes-Benz dealership and was the official jeweler for Miss California USA.

Since 2015, she has served as an ambassador for the Michael Phelps Foundation, which promotes water safety, wellness and both physical and mental health.

In September 2023, Johnson returned to her alma mater with Phelps for a football game. She shared photos from their sideline seats on Instagram.

She met Phelps at the 2007 ESPYs while working for ESPN

Johnson was working as an athlete escort at the 2007 ESPY Awards for ESPN when she first met her future husband.

Phelps was presenting an award with race car driver Danica Patrick, and Johnson was assigned to be his escort, but the Olympic swimmer wasn't her first choice.

"My wife was my escort here 10 years ago, [when] she was working with ESPN. It's funny, she always tells the story like, 'I wanted somebody different,' and I was like, 'Oh, thanks honey, really, really like that,' " Phelps told Entertainment Tonight at the 2017 ESPY Awards. "She's like, 'Everything works out for a reason.' "

She and Phelps dated on and off for eight years before getting engaged in 2015

While Johnson and Phelps first met in 2007, their relationship status was on-again-off-again for years in the beginning. After splitting one final time in late 2011, the couple realized they wanted to be together forever and got back together in 2014. By February 2015, they were engaged.

Speaking of their relationship journey to Brides magazine, Johnson later said, "We came back together a few times. In 2013, I said, 'You know, you're not ready for it. You should go have fun.' It always came back to my question of 'What if?' with Michael. I could never see myself with anyone else. There's nobody else that gets me the way that Michael does."

Phelps added, "And for me, it was 'What if I never had a chance to actually tell her how I felt?' The only thing that I could do was just say that, and we got back together … We've always seen it as 'If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.' And I guess it's meant to be."

She and Phelps had three separate wedding ceremonies

The couple had not one, but three weddings.

Phelps and Johnson first got married in secret on June 13, 2016, during a private backyard ceremony. The nuptials were officiated by Phelps' agent Peter Carlisle, who was a longtime supporter of the pair's relationship. Phelps once told The New York Times that during a swimming clinic in 2014, he said to Carlisle, "If I ever get a chance to get Nicole back," but before he finished his thought, Carlisle corrected him, saying, "No, when you get her back."

On May 5, 2016, just a month before tying the knot, Phelps and Johnson welcomed their first child together, son Boomer Robert Phelps. Johnson told Brides magazine that they married in June so she could have a legal name change, which would make international travel for the 2016 Rio Olympics with Boomer easier.

"I kept hearing stories about different last names and children and traveling, so we felt it best to change my last name. Boomer's last name is Phelps legally, and we felt like it would make it easier. And I actually wound up running into issues in Canada anyway! But no one outside of our families knew," Johnson said.

Still, she made sure to mark the occasion with a low-key Instagram post of her, Phelps and Boomer dressed casually, with the caption: "Such a memorable night with my lil fambam 😍💖 boomer obviously didn't want to hold still🙈."

Then, on Oct. 29, 2016, Phelps and Johnson got married a second time in an intimate, formal ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, this time joined by 50 of their closest friends and family, including son Boomer as the adorable ring bearer.

On New Year's Eve of 2016, they held a third ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. The third wedding was a 1920s-themed party with tons of food, dancing and a gorgeous cake. It was a way to celebrate with even more friends and family.

She and Phelps share four sons

Johnson and Phelps welcomed their first son, Boomer, on May 5, 2016, just before the Rio Olympics. On Feb. 12, 2018, they welcomed their second son, Beckett Richard, and a year later, Maverick Nicholas was born on Sept. 9, 2019. The family grew by one more when Nico Michael arrived on Jan. 16, 2024.

The parents are very happy to have a house full of boys. Johnson especially enjoys the dynamic and the family refers to her as the "queen of the household."

She is passionate about fitness and wellness

Phelps isn't the only one in the relationship with athletic talent. Johnson herself leads a very active lifestyle and often shares photos of herself golfing, hiking with her boys and playing pickleball with Phelps.

The former pageant star also loves weightlifting and often shares her progress in the gym on Instagram. She credits Phelps for inspiring her to start lifting weights, sharing in an Instagram caption, "Mental health is just as important as physical health. And if you can find some kind of exercise — you enjoy — you'll accomplish tending to both at once 💚@m_phelps00 encouraged me to start lifting with him 3xs a week this past May, I have never felt stronger or more confident in my body than I do now."

She is Phelps' biggest supporter

Phelps has been open about his struggles with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. He's even commended fellow Olympian Simone Biles on her openness about her own mental health struggles. Through it all, Johnson has been right by her husband's side and the Olympic swimmer has been very vocal about how much his wife's support means to him.

"She's absolutely everything for me," Phelps said about his wife. "I've been able to truly find my best friend, somebody who's seen me on my best days and my worst days and so far, she hasn't run yet."

During an interview with Today, Johnson opened up about her fear of losing Phelps to depression, explaining that the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in 2020 made her especially scared of a life without her husband.

"After Vanessa [Bryant] lost Kobe, all I could do was look at Michael and be like, 'Can we please help you? Because if I lose you, I don't know what I'm gonna do,' " she said. "Michael is the most amazing father and partner I could have ever asked for."

​​She added that she now goes to therapy to work on her own mental health and learn more about how she can help Phelps.

"It's helping me with everything. It's support for me," she explained. "But more than anything, therapy provides me with the tools to be able to help Michael properly."

The couple have used their mental health journey as a teachable moment for their children as well, teaching them to lead with love and compassion and even introducing them to techniques for handling their emotions, including the breathing exercise "lion's breath."

"It's funny, Maverick will be so upset and then suddenly you'll hear him breathe in deep and then sigh," Johnson shared.

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