Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson finds love in Nashville

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson found two loves in Tennessee.

A Vanderbilt football player.

And Nashville.

They happened almost simultaneously, and now — in a perfectly romantic act — the two will come together with a wedding.

In April, Johnson will marry NFL hopeful Andrew East at a home in Williamson County. The day will showcase Nashville designers, drinks and desserts — and Johnson's adoration of her man and the city she now calls home.

It's not a story Johnson ever could have imagined, but then again, it's not likely she ever foresaw winning "Dancing with the Stars" or appearing on "Celebrity Apprentice" after she claimed a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

And in that crazy, only in a love story kind of way, it was the Olympics that brought her and East together. But not the year she won the gold.

It happened four years later, in 2012, when she was in London representing USA Gymnastics and watching her cyclist friend, Taylor Phinney, compete. Turns out one of Phinney's teammates was Guy East — and Guy quickly became convinced that the joyful, petite blonde he just met needed to meet his football-playing brother, Andrew.

Guy was so convinced, in fact, that a few months after the 2012 Olympics, he got Andrew on a plane to Los Angeles to meet Johnson while she competed on "Dancing With the Stars."

"I thought it was insane," Johnson says with a huge smile on her face.

But love didn't happen at once. They had a fleeting meeting six months later at the Indy 500 in East's hometown. And then, finally, in June 2013, Johnson made a trip to Nashville.

Their first official date began tailgating and watching a Vanderbilt baseball game from the top of a parking garage with a bunch of East's football buddies.

Then they drove through the city, stopping at the Parthenon, checking out Broadway and eating at Loveless Cafe. By the end of the adventure, Johnson was smitten — with Andrew and the city.

"I fell head over heels, I guess," she says. She moved to Nashville four months later. In July 2015, East proposed.

It seems fitting that since their first Nashville date involved baseball, the proposal would, too — but Johnson never expected it to happen in such a high-profile way.

But last summer, after USA Gymnastics asked Johnson to throw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game, she stepped to the mound with former Olympic teammate Alicia Sacramone, gripping the stitches of the ball in her hand. They each threw a pitch — making it all the way to the catcher, thank goodness — and then coordinated a gymnastic move where they walked on their hands.

Johnson, feeling completely relieved, thought nothing could make the day better.

But then East walked toward the mound. Slung over his shoulder, he had a Cubs jersey personalized with his last name and number 15. In a small box, he had a ring.

Down on one knee in front of thousands at Wrigley Field, he proposed.

Johnson covered her mouth, her body shaking. When she said yes, East lifted her into the air, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

The day had gotten even more amazing.

Now, six months later, the couple squeezes dress fittings with Green Hills' designer Olia Zavozina, cake tastings at Nashville's Dulce Desserts and detail meetings with their Fete Nashville wedding planner into a crazy schedule that includes speaking engagements and football obligations.

Though they are Midwesterners by birth, when it comes to the wedding, Nashville has their heart.

"For Shawn and I, Nashville has really been our home," East says. "That’s where we really got to know each other, and we see Nashville as a long-term place for us to set our roots down. It has all the things special to Shawn and I."

The couple will be in an out of the city for a bit after they say "I do." Johnson will be working at the Summer Olympics in Rio and will then join USA Gymnastics' Tour of Gymnastics Champions, a Cirque du Soleil-like performance that will showcase her gymnastics for the first time since total knee reconstruction in March 2015.

Meanwhile, long snapper East, who just signed a futures contract with the Seahawks, will report to Seattle for workouts the day after the wedding.

But with a ring on her finger, Johnson won't mind. She has a future to look forward to — with a man she loves in a city she adores.

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and on Twitter @jlbliss.

Shawn Johnson could pick you to win a honeymoon

Olympic gold medal winner Shawn Johnson has partnered with WeddingWire for the site's #JustSaidYes campaign, which celebrates couples' engagement stories. The campaign wraps up after Valentine’s Day, which is when Johnson will select an engaged couple to win a wedding registry and honeymoon. There have been more than 18,300 entries from engaged couples. 

It's fun to see the stories, Johnson says. "You get to live in everybody's moment."

And with each new ring and tearful post, she gets to remember her own special moment.

You can enter at WeddingWire's #justsaidyes campaign page: http://go.weddingwire.com/just-said-yes.