*Simone Biles has confirmed her split from Stacey Ervin Jr. after three years together.
The Olympic champion opens up about the break up in Vogue’s new cover story exploring her life and sports career amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s hard being young and having that long of a relationship and then ending it,” the four-time gold medalist told the publication. “But it was for the best.”
Biles and Ervin sparked breakup rumors earlier this year after fans noticed she unfollowed him on social media.
Word on the curb is that she dumped him around Valentine’s Day after catching him cheating.
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.@Simone_Biles stars on the cover of our August issue! With the 2020 Olympics postponed and a shadow hung over American gymnastics, Biles–who is widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time—has had to be resilient as never before. (1/5) https://t.co/fPoNKoDNwD pic.twitter.com/6y4RxtMYAf
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) July 9, 2020
Confirmation of their breakup also came after fans noticed Stacey did not wish Biles a happy birthday in March.
As noted by PEOPLE, Biles made her love for Ervin publicly known in 2017, writing, “always smiling with you,” in a caption for a photo on Instagram with the former athlete. Biles previously declared Ervin the “man of her dreams,” and wrote in January, “I’m excited to love you for a very long time.”
Elsewhere in the Vogue interview, the four-time Olympic gold medalist opens up about the USA Gymnastics’ Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal.
Nassar, the former Team USA doctor, sexually abused Biles and over 150 women and girls.
He is currently serving 300 years in prison after being sentenced in 2018 to sexually abusing female gymnasts over two decades.
“I felt like I knew, I just didn’t want to admit it to myself, that it had happened. Because I felt like, not that you’re supposed to be perfect, but I just felt like that’s what America wanted me to be — was perfect,” Biles told Vogue of the Nassar controversy. “Because every time an American wins the Olympics, you’re like America’s sweetheart.
“So it’s like, `How could this happen to America’s sweetheart?’ That’s how I felt — like I was letting other people down by this.”
Biles came forward in January 2018, after friend and U.S. teammate Maggie Nichols revealed her abuse was the first reported to USA Gymnastics.
“For me, it was a weight that I carried so heavily on my chest, so I felt like, if I shared it with people, then it would be a relief for me,” Biles told Vogue. “And I knew that by sharing my story, I would help other survivors feel comfortable and safe in coming forward.”
You can read Simone’s full Vogue interview here.
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