Shawn Johnson Describes Feeling Disconnected in Marriage During Postpartum Depression

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson said she felt disconnected from her husband Andrew East while experiencing postpartum depression after the 2023 birth of their third child. Johnson described the period as one in which she felt she was losing control. She said her son Barrett, now 2, was colicky and had trouble eating and sleeping, which created challenges she had not faced with her older children.

Johnson said the experience left her feeling as if she was drowning. She added that she did not know how to ask for help because she believed her first responsibility was to care for the baby. The couple reached a point where their interactions were no longer normal, Johnson said. She recalled being cold and distant, and she said East suggested they attend therapy.

Johnson said she agreed to therapy because she lacked the energy to argue. She described the sessions as the first step that started healing her and called them the greatest gift from East. Johnson said she never doubted her marriage or her husband but often doubts herself because she is a perfectionist.

The couple, who married in 2016, also have a 6-year-old daughter named Drew Hazel and a 4-year-old son named Jett James.