Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who has won 22 Olympic medals, the most in history, announced on Sunday via Twitter and Instagram that he and former Miss California Nicole Johnson are engaged. “She said yes,” Phelps wrote under a picture of him and Johnson cuddling in the snow. Johnson captioned, “I am gonna be a Mrs.”
Phelps’ sister Hilary wrote on her Facebook page, “CONGRATULATIONS to these two lovebirds on their engagement! Couldn’t be happier for my brother and thrilled to gain a sister, who I adore and love already!”
Phelps could use some good news; he won’t swim with the U.S. team at the world championships this year because last October USA Swimming suspended him. The suspension was triggered by a DUI last fall in Maryland. He attended a six-week in-patient treatment program; he tweeted, “I’m going to take some time away to attend a program that will provide the help I need to better understand myself.”
The 2014 DUI was not Phelps’ first; in 2004, he received a DUI, also in Maryland, pleading guilty and getting 18 months probation. Phelps said in 2012, “I’ll make a million mistakes in my life, but as long as I never make the same mistake again, then I’ve been able to learn and grow.”
Johnson attended Moorpark College, later transferring to the University of California, where she graduated with a degree in communications. She was crowned Miss California in 2010.