How did Suni Lee meet her boyfriend Jaylin Smith?

Suni Lee and Jaylin Smith
Suni Lee (left) and Jaylin Smith (Image via Marca)

US gymnast Suni Lee created history when she won a gold medal in all-around event at the Tokyo Olympics last year. She also bagged a silver medal in the team event and a bronze in uneven bars. Lee is the first Hmong-American Olympian.

While her journey in the run-up to the Olympics was anything but easy, her life post-Tokyo seems to be flourishing. She's a freshman at Auburn University and is representing her college at the NCAA championships. She was recently a participant on the dance reality show, Dancing With The Stars.

To add to that, Suni Lee is also in a happy relationship with footballer Jaylin Smith. While it's not known how the two athletes met, Lee and Smith announced their relationship on social media in January 2022. The pair posed in matching black hoodies in a now deleted post.


Suni Lee and Jaylin Smith face backlash

Unfortunately, Suni Lee and Jaylin Smith's inter-racial relationship faced some backlash on social media.

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A TikToker @alixphom, posted a message in support of Suni Lee and Jaylin Smith highlighting the backlash Lee received from the Hmong-American community. The user wrote:

"I know that Sunisa will be judged by certain eyes in the Hmong Community because her man is Black. LOVE is LOVE, no matter what race or gender you are. Keep doing you QUEEN."

The post won Lee's heart, and she replied to the message in the comments thanking the TikToker for the support. She commented with a crying emoji:

"This makes me so happy. I’ve received (sic) so much hate. They support me when it’s beneficial for them, never when it comes to my happiness. Thank you!"

Lee spoke to TMZ Sport during a media interaction and thanked everyone who supported her:

"I don’t know. I mean we’re really happy. I don’t think there is anything more to that, and it should just be normalised. … Yeah, I have gotten a lot of support, and I’m really thankful."

Who is Suni Lee's boyfriend Jaylin Smith?

Jaylin Smith (Image via On3.com)
Jaylin Smith (Image via On3.com)

Suni Lee and Jaylin Smith have been in a relationship for almost over a year and look very adorable together. They have been pictured in public a few times and never shy away from talking about each other.

Smith is a USC football player who plays for the Trojans. He represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics. Currently enrolled at the University of Southern California, Smith was previously a cornerback, wide receiver and running back at the Bishop Alemany High in Mansion Hills.

Jaylin Smith was a part of rapper Snoop Dogg's documentary, 'Coach Snoop'. It followed the lives of several young talented athletes of Smith's age. Notably, it highlighted how Smith dealt with the passing of his mother while trying to maintain his form for sport.

Being a part of that documentary was like a "blessing" for Smith. He said:

"Oh man, it was a blessing. A young kid from where I’m from, you never really get that opportunity to play at a high level."

He added that the documentary exposed him to a world he hadn't seen before and how that helped him. Smith said:

"For sure, I don’t know what I would be doing without them. … they got me far. They exposed me to different, other people you know, other people seeing who I was. … it helped me out tremendously in the long run."

Certainly, Smith has achieved a lot in a short time, and this is only the beginning. As for Suni Lee, although she hasn't given any concrete information about her plans to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, gymnastics fans all over the world are hoping she comes back to dominate the podium once again.

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Edited by Bhargav