- Suni Lee is adapting to life in New York City after making the move there following the Paris Olympics
- The six-time Olympic medalist is interested in pursuing fashion, and recently met her “Queen” Beyoncé at the Glamour Women of the Year gala
- Lee, 21, is not thinking about the 2028 Olympics and is currently not in training, she tells PEOPLE
Six-time Olympic medalist Suni Lee is balancing a new life — in New York City!
Nearly three months after helping Team USA win gold in the team final (and grabbing bronze in the uneven bars and in the all-around), the gymnast has made the leap to the Big Apple, and is aiming for new goals outside of the gym.
“It’s been really fun here,” Lee, 21, tells us while discussing her partnership with all free clear laundry detergent. “I’m just so grateful to be able to be living here, and it’s just been such an amazing experience getting to do all of these opportunities, but also getting to meet so many amazing people.”
That includes Beyoncé, whom she connected with while being honored at Glamour’s Women of the Year gala earlier this month — someone Lee enthuses, “I never thought I would ever meet.”
“It’s like, Queen,” the Minnesota native says.
For her legions of fans, it’s Lee who has long been on the gymnastics throne.
But after climbing to the top of the sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and winning gold in the all-around, the gymnast struggled with her health, battling two separate kidney diseases, and then her own self-doubt before the Paris Olympics last summer.
“I think that I am always really nervous, but I think this time around I was more nervous because it was having to deal with the pressure of being the reigning Olympic champion and then also dealing with the health issues and then just being scared that I wasn’t ready,” Lee tells PEOPLE. “I think last Olympics, I felt a lot more ready going into it, whereas this one, I was kind of rushed and not really mentally prepared.”
She adds, “But at the end of the day, it all ended up working out, which thank God, because I was so nervous.”
Lee leaned on her teammates, including Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, in the lead-up to the competition.
“They were like, ‘No, you need to walk in and act like you are the reigning Olympic champion, because you look scared,’ ” Lee recalled about the hours before the team took the mat at Bercy Arena in Paris. “And that’s something that’s stuck with me because I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so right. I am scared to be here.’ But we all deserve to be there at the end of the day.”
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Lee went on to add three Olympic medals to her career count, and credits Biles for being an “amazing mentor.”
“I mean, I’ve looked up to her for as long as I can remember, since I’ve been doing gymnastics, elite gymnastics especially, and it’s just really cool to see that she’s as good a person as she is an athlete, and so having her on the floor and just even get to compete alongside her has been such a dream,” she says.
Lee is now paying it forward by helping to encourage others through her partnership with all detergent.
“I think growing up, I’ve always had really sensitive skin, so it was always really important to me to work on my skincare routine,” Lee, who has eczema, shares. “And I feel like the one thing that I want to get across in partnering with them is to empower those with sensitive skin to live confidently and share that your skincare can start in the laundry room, because I didn’t know that. So whenever I started doing that and it helped me a lot, I felt like it was something that I needed to share, especially because I always share makeup and skincare tips.”
A professed fashionista, she is taking her new life in the big city — where she is currently not in gymnastics training — “day by day,” Lee tells PEOPLE.
“I’m just living my life,” she says. “I’ve never really been without gymnastics, so this is completely brand new to me, and I’m still figuring out a routine and learning all the places, but it’s been really fun.”
The past few years for Lee have been set to a frenetic pace. With her health in a good place, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are far from her mind, she admits.
Lee is focusing on a different track for her near future — which could include a foray into the fashion world — but she’s also basking in what she’s accomplished.
“It’s been crazy,” she says. “I mean, I’ve literally been traveling all over the place, so I really haven’t had time to just kind of settle. But looking back, I’m just so proud of myself for making it onto the team. It’s been such a crazy year, so I’m really, really proud of myself.”
