Simon Biles might be the most decorated gymnast in history, with seven Olympic medals to her name, but even she is no stranger to insecurity.
In an interview with Elle ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics next week, the athlete revealed, "I used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional…but I'm not embarrassed about it anymore."
She explained that growing up, no one taught her how to do her hair; instead, she "always went to the professionals" to style it for her.
Despite her previous insecurities about her hair, she opened up about her newfound confidence in her appearance, saying, "I'm finally learning to love my hair and the texture that I have and the styles that I can do."
Simone told the publication that her gymnastics team do not get to bring a makeup artist or hairstylist to help them with their routine looks at the Olympics, but teammate Jordan Chiles is there to help with her superior skills.
"She's the [hair] braider on the team," the 27-year-old said. "We can all go to her for braids."
Jordan may be enlisted to assist Simone after all; she said that she "doesn't want [her] extensions falling out or this that [and] the other" and that "too much product in your hair" can cause it to start "flaking and [getting] dirty".
Simone shockingly withdrew from five events in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, explaining that she needed time away to protect her mental and physical health.
She told Elle she is more than ready for the upcoming competition: "I am doing therapy weekly to keep everything in tune so that I feel comfortable and confident enough to be competing," she said. "It's been a crucial part of my training regimen."
For Simone, mental and physical health go hand-in-hand, as she told the publication: "I understand and realize I have to take care of my physical appearance as well as my mental."
The gymnastic powerhouse endured online criticism when she posted about her wedding to NFL player Jonathan Owens in 2023. Commenters complained that her "edges should have been laid", but Simone quickly fired back, reminding them that the wedding took place in Houston, Texas and that her hair was affected by the heat as soon as they took their wedding pictures.
One person who loves her hair no matter what? Her husband Jonathan, who Simone says is her biggest supporter. "He loves the smell of hair being straightened," she said in the interview. "He gets his hair braided every two weeks, so we're in a similar boat."
The couple, who both followed careers in elite sport, are each other's number one fans; Simone regularly attends his Chicago Bears games, and Jonathan recently posted an Instagram photo holding up a cardboard cut out of her face while kissing his wife amongst action shots of her during her routine.
He captioned the post: "No words can describe how proud of you I am baby…Just sounds so surreal being able to say my wife is the best to EVER do it, how did I get so lucky".
"I love you so much," he sweetly finished.