Gabby Douglas surprises mom Natalie Hawkins with sweet Mother’s Day gestures

American gymnast Gabby Douglas shared glimpses of the special surprise that she planned for her mother, Natalie Hawkins, on the eve of Mother's Day. Douglas' mother has been a major backbone behind her career and has also travelled to several tournaments to support the gymnast.

Douglas' mother, Natalie, raised the gymnast single-handedly after the latter split up with the gymnast's father, Timothy. Owing to this, the gymnast has a very special bond with her mother, with the latter also being highly involved in the former's on and off the mat endeavors.

Douglas recently shared a few pictures of the gifts she arranged for the special day on her Instagram stories. She also penned a short note in her first story, expressing her love for her mother. The 29-year-old American gymnast wrote:

"happy mother's day to the strongest mom out there @nathawk07 love you mom"

Glimpses of Douglas' presents on Mother's Day (Image via: Douglas' Instagram)

Douglas' second story feat mother's presents (Image via: Douglas' Instagram)

Douglas also shared glimpses of the special treats made by her elder sister, Arielle Hawkins, for their mother. She remarked:

"@ariehawk made our mom's favorite homemade sweet treat (my fav too lol)"

Glimpses of the sweets Douglas' elder sister made for their mother (Image via: Douglas' Instagram)

Gabby Douglas, a 3-time Olympic gold medalist, recently achieved an honorary achievement in her career as she was inducted into the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee's Hall of Fame 2025 for her contribution to the national gymnastics team at the quadrennial games.

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Gabby Douglas shares her thoughts as she reflects on her gymnastics career

Gabby Douglas (Image via: Getty)

Gabby Douglas shed light on her early gymnastics memories and the journey that she navigated in the sport.

During the conversation, Douglas shared that she started doing gymnastics after watching her elder sister at the age of three. She further added that she was so involved in gymnastics that in the same week, she started doing cartwheels. She said (via UConn Daily Campus):

"Gymnastics is a very hard sport, but I loved it. I loved to challenge my mind, loved to challenge my body, I’m the youngest in my family. When I was three years old, I saw my sister doing gymnastics. I was like, ‘Oh, this looks pretty cool. I want to try it.’ So, she was teaching me gymnastic skills, and by the end of the week, I was teaching myself cartwheels."

Reflecting on her gymnastics journey across her decorated career, Douglas added:

"It’s honestly still sinking in. That process was long and grueling but also it was very enjoyable."

Gabby Douglas further shed light on the challenges that she faced in the initial days of her career when she had to move out to train in Iowa.