Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - 113 adversity and long-distance with the olympic power couple

Episode Date: May 5, 2022

This week we are joined by two USA track and field legends, Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis! The Olympic couple talked to us about how they met, what it was like dating long-distance, their engagement and the adversities they've had to face during their career. We hope you enjoy listening! We are sponsored by these companies that we love. Check them out below: Aura Frames ▶ Listeners can use code EASTFAM to get UP TO $20 off while supplies last! Better Help ▶ Couple Things listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/eastfam. Athletic Greens ▶ visit athleticgreens.com/eastfam to take ownership of your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Defender. With a towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms and a waiting depth of 900 millimeters, the Defender 110 pushes what's possible. Learn more at landrover.ca. Before I went to World Championships in London, every break that I had, spring break, summer break, I'd move to the Olympic Training Center and train. I see. Before we got our medals, just moved to the Olympic championship.

Training Center. I went to London for... And then to train for the next thing. We get it. We get it. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to a couple things. With Sean and Andrew.

A podcast all about couples. And the things they go through. We have been counting down the days for this interview. We have Hunter Woodall and Tara Davis. That's right. They're two legends, two Olympians, and hopefully two new friends. Sean, I'm going to let you introduce Tara and then all introduced Hunter. Tara's a boss.

NCAA indoor and outdoor long jump champion. and first woman in UT's history to clear 22 feet in the long jump. Wild. American junior record holder in the indoor long jump, one-time Olympian in 2020. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. She came in sixth. That's right.

And then let me introduce Hunter. So Hunter is a two-time Paralympian, three-time Paralympic medalist. He was also at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where he won a bronze. In Rio, 2016, he won a silver and a bronze. And in 2017, he was a silver medalist at the world championships. So two very good athletes to say the least. But also, they are creators themselves. They are YouTube geeks just like us. And we sat

down and had a really fun conversation all about their experience as athletes and their experience on the internet. And their experience is a couple. So we covered a lot of ground here. Really enjoyed our time. And I learned a bunch. Their attitude and approach to life, is just magnetic. That's how I would describe it. It is. We had a blast. We could have talked to them for hours.

I am positive. You guys are going to love this as much as we did. And you may be asking yourself, how is Hunter a Paralympian? Well, he was born with a congenital defect in which his fibulas and his lower legs actually never formed. And so he had to get his legs amputated

below the knee at 11 months old. So he grew up playing different sports still amazingly. And I just love his story. you like dominate this sport and does it with style. So big fan of these two. And if you want to find out more about them, we will link their information down below.

But without further ado, we'll bring you Hunter and Tara. Hunter and Tara, what a treat this is. We've been looking forward to this interview for months. So thank you for making it happen. When your names went up on our board that you were booked for the show,

I freaked out. I literally freaked out. I have been watching you guys since before the Olympics. Like, I remember we were seeing like the first Instagram picture come through. of you guys together and i was like wait what because you're you're both being like talked about as like olympic prospects i was like this is this is crazy we have to get them on the show now you're here's the wildest thing i feel really really blessed that we were on on the board of your guys is

yeah that's insane thanks for having us well and we've had to shift it a few times you guys had to like shift this and i started getting really sad i was like is this going to happen i know i was really hoping it was going to happen i was like i was going to do it please yeah yes those are just insane i mean i i i think everybody is kind of able to to you know feel the same thing like everyone's schedule has just been absolutely insane and this year's been just moving by it's like yes it really is a ketchup ear and people are getting crazy with it which is yeah it's been a lot let me just start in the only logical place hunter your hair looks a plus today bro i don't know what you did i don't know what your routine is but it works all right you want to know

it's funny. I actually woke up early because I had an early workout and I wore this beanie all day. So this is my hair post beanie and I just got back from a massage. And he was about to throw that beanie on. I was like, no. Your hair looks great. Yeah, the hair looks great.

Good to know. Good to know. It's a big vote of confidence. So we'll start from the beginning and come back but I have to start here real quick. I will never forget. So something that Andrew and I love is we love that both being athletes, kind of gone into the digital creation world

it's a whole new world but I will never forget it was after the Olympics you guys had come home in the one of I don't remember what video it was but you guys had posted a video of was it Hunter you like dropped a TV off of the back of a truck

or whatever yeah yeah which one was it I was just like how how my fiance expects me to answer the phone whenever she calls kind of video and I died because one it was in a phenomenal video and two I was like they're creators this is amazing and it's just been really funny to see and fun to see and watch you guys

kind of create your your presence on the social world so congratulations by the way that video was amazing he has all the brains for I don't know she doesn't credit herself she's pretty she's pretty smart as well when she's when she's willing to to actually do it and get get her hands dirty in the social world but thank you It's a scary world out there. It is. There's a lot of eyes. There's a lot of eyes, a lot of opinions.

And it can be tough to, like, put something out there, especially if it, like, comes from a place of, like, your own creativity, because that's, like, that's an expression of who you are. And if somebody doesn't like it, it's like, well, that's me. So, you know what I mean? How do you guys deal with that? Because I remember Andrew actually convinced me to do the whole social creation world many years after I retired. But going from athletics where it's almost like a math equation.

So if you run fast enough, if you jump far enough, wow, Black Cat. What's his name? Her name's Azula. You literally can't even see her on your shirt. Yeah. Oh, yeah. The dogs and the animals are starting to come. Anyways, with like gymnastics for me, everything was kind of like a math problem where

if I knew by my performance how I should be judged. But in the social world, it's a whole different ballgame. People just have opinions that don't make any sense. Yeah. But it can be really hard for like athletic mentality or how do I say that? The athlete mentality. There you go to like digest that. So how have you guys been dealing with that world?

I mean, it comes and goes. I mean, some comments still sting. But, you know, like we've learned from it. And I've just figured that it's just another person behind a computer, just another person on a keyboard. They're like, they don't even know who I am. They're just judging just from a screen or from an Instagram profile, you know. They don't really know who we are, who I am. Yeah.

I feel like I've tried to, like, apply, like, the athlete mentality to social media. And as you guys know, it's, like, in athletics, like, it's very, like, cause and causation. like there's a very clear line like I did these things in practice and it helped me in this way like I benefited in this way like I needed to change this one thing that I'm doing while I'm running and fix my technique and it's going to lead to faster times X, Y and Z. And when I create social media content, it's kind of the same thing. Like I'm like testing things, right? Like I make something, I put it out and I say, okay, this performed this way and this is why I think it performed this way, right? Like I did this at the beginning of the video, which I really think helped, you know, be a good hook

to add retention to like tell the story that I'm trying to tell through content. And I think like through the last, I know four or five years that we've been doing social media stuff, I've started to learn self and figured it out, but kind of things that, you know, make the social media platforms tick and things that work and things that people want to see. And it's like, it's just a learning experience and it's just about like really being dedicated to what you're doing. And in my personal opinion, like actually taking it seriously. That's good. Tell us how you guys met. Naturally, I had to track meet.

Yeah, I had to track me in Idaho. We were 17. Yeah. Actually, it was on my 18th. Yeah, it was. Okay, so on his birthday, it was in 2017, and we're like seniors in high school. And at this track meet, it was an indoor meet, so everything's pretty close together. And, like, the warm up is, like, very small.

So while I was warming up, he was warming up at the same time. And I saw him, I was like, ooh, I see the fine specimen right there. And I just thought he was super cute, had no idea who he was, what he did. And then he ran, and everyone's like, oh, it's his birthday, this is Hunter Woodhull. Saying every accolade he ever owned, and I was like, wow, like that's crazy. But he's fine, like, dang. After he finished his race, I was like, oh my gosh, I have to go up to him. him and I went up to him and I hugged him and I said I don't know why but I have to hug you

and I did and I don't there was no reasoning to add some context to like at the time I'm I'm I wasn't that well known like I'm just you know a little bit different because I'm like a kid with no legs running track with all these people with legs so it's like a little bit out of the ordinary but tar is like the best athlete in the country like national records like legit everyone knows who she is in the track world, like, she's hot stuff. So I obviously, like, know who she is very clearly. Like, that's Tara Davis, and she's at the same meet as us. And when she said she walked up to me and gave me a hug, it wasn't just, like, randomly, she walked onto the track at the meet, like, after I finished running 400, walked up on the track and said this. I was like, first of all,

I know who this is. Second of all, I don't know why she's hugging me. And I just ran a quarter miles. So I'm like really tired, you know. He's like, okay. I'm just going to take a win where I can get it. Wait, what happened after that? Did you start dating like right away? No, no, no, no, no, no. I was too nervous to talk to her like the rest of the meat.

So I was like walking around the meet like on purpose, thinking that maybe I would accidentally stumble, you know, with her. And like we could have a conversation. We talked for like 30 seconds when we were getting our mess. medals for our events and that was like really it that we had like spoke during the meet and then I remember after we both went home she went back to California I was back in Utah and I had tweeted something it was like probably 9 30 10 o'clock like in the evening and Tara like sent me that message and was like something to the effect of like you should be in bed why are you up so late yeah

and I was like oh it's on I was like from then it's just you know like talking seeing each other at meets um i moved to california that summer which which kind of helped so we probably talked for six eight months before we ever started like hold the back up for a second you're 18 you moved to californ for tar you know like the olympic training center oh yeah okay yeah so that so the year before was the olympic year and then the following year was world championships so before i went to world championships in london every break that i had spring break summer break, I'd move to the Olympic Training Center and train.

I see, before we got our medals, just moved to the Olympic Training Center. I went to London for... And then to train for the next. We get it, we get it. Oh, this is it. The day you finally ask for that big promotion. You're in front of your mirror

with your Starbucks coffee. Be confident, assertive. Remember eye contact, but also remember to blink. Smile, but not too much. That's weird. What if you aren't any good at your job? What if they demoed you instead? Okay, don't be silly.

You're smart, you're driven, you're going to be late if you keep talking to the mirror. This promotion is yours. Go get them. Starbucks, it's never just coffee. Tara, was this like a habit of yours? Did you walk in up to people and giving random hugs? Oh, absolutely not. Especially not guys at the time.

That was probably, no. That's a power play. That is a power play. You know, I look back and I was like, like, wow, you're really confident in yourself. And then, yeah, once you moved to California, I lived two and a half hours away from San Diego. And so one morning, I drove up at 630. We planned this, by the way. Yeah. So like, I don't even know how my parents said yes. Like, I just graduated high school.

and they're like okay so at like 6.30 in the morning I drove all over to San Diego and then we ended up spending two days together I know and like first time ever moving out ever talking we trained together at the Chila Vista Center which is like so cool and like that was like our first experience of kind of like life together and it's like shaped everything that we're doing right now and it's like super cool to look back on I can, I can, like, imagine that training session where it's like, oh, what are you doing today? I'm just doing, like, some casual, you know, warm-up runs,

and you're going all out, like, freaking. Do you guys race each other on the first day? No, no, no, no. I would have to be them. I didn't want to embarrass them. And at the time, we were, like, still, like, friends. Like, we hadn't, like, admitted that we liked each other. Like, we would, like, joke about it.

Oh, it was clear. It was clear. You both were well aware. Yeah. Yeah, we never, like, we never expressed it, but like, you didn't drive to San Diego to see your friend. Yeah, but this is also, you got to, you got to know, like, this is the summer before we're going to college, and we're going to college in two separate places. So it was like, man, this would be a really dumb time to get into a relationship. Yeah.

Yeah, you know. I was like, I'm not going to college with a boyfriend. No way. Wait, so when did you lock it down then? At what point was it friends to, we're here? A month later? Yeah. about a month later yeah well we had so you did it before college all the time yeah

wait so you guys ended up going to different colleges yes yeah we established that early as like we're going to we're going to do what's best for ourselves and then it like if this works out like great like that would be awesome but let's focus on ourselves and make decisions based on that so so walk us through that four year journey basically you decided to start dating before you got to college, which was not the same one. No. So you guys did long distance for four years? For four years.

Yeah. Holy mess. It was difficult. We need to have an entire, like a whole other podcast with just you guys about long distance. It was rough. And an exclusive that I don't think anybody else knows, Tara actually broke up with me freshman year. What happened? Well, I was just overwhelmed.

stressed and there's just so much going on and it made us a lot better for it i think i think it's really understandable person was hard you know but yeah i definitely made it stronger yeah most definitely and it's just like so much new stuff like we moved from essentially the west coast to the south and it was like culture's different people are different coaching is different training's different I'm not at home. Like, it's a five-hour flight home. Yeah, it was just a lot. And it was just like, like Tara said, like not having your person with you makes like communication really hard.

It makes like feeling like loved and feeling like, you know, just like a part of the relationship very difficult, especially when you're both student athletes and you have like 30 hours a week of practice and then an extra however many hours you're doing the semester. So it was a lot. So, Tara, tell me about your thoughts on the transfer portal because you started Georgia. Yes. And then you left the SEC, which just breaks my heart. I'm a vandy boy. Oh, wow.

Yeah. Okay. But you transferred in 2019. Yeah. The year before COVID and the whole thing switched, talk to me. Yeah. So I went to University of Georgia, 2017 to the end of 2018. And transferred to University of Texas.

I did not have the time that I wanted or the time I was promised or like everything around what brought me to UGA. I wasn't feeling the school itself amazing Athens amazing love it just the the environment wasn't healthy for me so I decided it was in my best interest is to like go and my parents had just gotten a divorce so my dad moved back to Texas and my mom was planning on moving back to Texas, because that's where I was born and whatnot. And I was like, I want to be closer to home.

University of Texas was my dream school. So, like, that was a very big push. And then Coach Edric Floriel, who actually recruited me to get to Kentucky, went to University of Texas. So that was like a huge, huge thing. And then I was close to my parents, three-hour drive. closer to me closer to hunter it was now eight hours instead of 13 hours yeah yeah and and like at georgia you like you should talk about some of the injuries you would say oh yeah it's ridiculous so

i when i got to georgia i started training with them and then i started developing a back problem and like back pain and it was it was going on for quite some time and i was going up to them asking like way what's going on with my back. And I'd always get the same answer. Oh, it's just a muscle spasm or your back is just super tight. And so they treated it as that. And then I was like, you know, it's getting worse. I think I need something imaging. I was like, I think I need an MRI. And they're like, no, it's just a muscle spasm. Like, your back's okay. As soon as I left Georgia, as soon as I stepped on campus at Texas, I got an MRI. And it showed I had two stress fractures in my back. I had I had one of those those are not brutal yeah so yeah as soon as I got to Texas in 2019

I had to sit out because my coach blocked me because I was too good of an athlete to compete against his ladies oh man yeah hey no and then I had a back problem and I had stress fractures so I think the sitting out did well for that injury but like mentally it was it was hard but you freaking came back and dominated I sure did let's go like yeah we I sure did I have I have more questions about that because that's all just policy oh Siri what are you doing um that's all just politics and crap because to have a coach, like, actively choose to be like, oh, I'm sorry, you're too good. I don't want you to compete with these people.

Yeah. That affects your career drastically. My entire everything. It affects my life, my mental health and my physical. So how then did you, I don't want to say overcome that? Because it's not like, it's not on you to overcome. It's literally just a dumb thing, someone that's just a dumb person. But how did you get through that?

How did you get back, like, on the race? team and kind of on your track to the Olympics. Yeah, a lot of time, a lot of time just being spent just training and not competing. And then when I did go into like my unwell mental health, I had Hunter there to support me and telling me that you're going to, you're going to be there one day. Like just keep on pushing, keep on trying. And finally, finally in 2020, I was back. I was ready to go and our first competition was four days away and I was at practice training and I fell and broke my foot no oh my gosh they had posted something about it when you like finally competed after that it was like 300 and no it was like it was 600 yeah 54 days since

Tara Davis had competed like it was like in which in the track world is like in eternity like that's like almost two years where it just hadn't competed at all through like being blocked or injuries or whatever and it was just like that was without a doubt and this is coming for me so you know the like the hardest 18 months of our lives like it was it was challenging it was insane and then so yeah I break my foot and I have to sit out for like six weeks and by that six weeks it was like the second to last track meet of the season and or of the indoor season and um conference that was like first track me back I it was one race and then the next week later COVID hit and nationals got canceled and like dog

there was nothing how did you came back and freaking dominant I did it I did it's go Dang, that's legit a crazy story It is legit And I have a million more questions I'm sorry I'm just going to be like I gotta know

I gotta know Andrew We went through a huge phase in our life with Andrew Going out for the NFL And that took A huge toll on him And his mental health

Just like jumping around teams Getting cut, different things like that And that really affects a relationship because it puts a lot of like to a certain extent the weight of the relationship on the other person so like on Hunter and on me to try to support him and be his like cheerleading squat which did a great job at thanks but you're just hype man today um so as hunter watching your significant other go through something like that is so hard it's so emotional keep her spirits up and how did that like how did that affect your guys his relationship yeah i wish

there was like a like a clean answer there was like told her you got it and it was all good but it was it was hard like there was days where it's just like there's nothing you can say to to change the fact that that's the reality that tar's in you know like that's what tar is dealing with or in andrew's case like that's a real emotion that's a real thing that he is dealing with and and the way he's feeling and the emotions, you know, they have are very real. And in that time, it gets even more difficult because it's like, I'm not sure what it is I can say to make it any better. You know what I mean? And it's almost like it's just hard to understand. Like I'm not even there. Like I'm a thousand miles away. So in the same note, it's like, I can tell you that it's going to be okay as much as I

want, but it's like you're the one experiencing it. You're the one in there. So how can you, how can trust that right like it's not good now i don't really see where it's going to go um so i would say for the most part it was like learning to not come up with solutions not come up with like trying to give options of what can make it better and really just like trying to be there to listen and like understand and like just kind of talk through things and a lot of times it was like without a cause like we weren't going to find a solution to what she was feeling but at least she had someone there to like talk about it with who wasn't going to you know judge her think some some kind of way and it's like I wasn't perfect throughout the whole process either

but you know I was just kind of let me be the rock let me be the cheerleading squad let's get through this together kind of thing and it was difficult because like I had my own things going on as well you know like I'm also an athlete I also have my season like so it was it was a lot and it affected us heavily I would say the other problem is we were broke like no money like And like going to see each other was very difficult. Like I couldn't afford a flight. So a lot of times, like I would drive from Fayetteville to Georgia on Friday, stay Saturday, and then drive home Sunday, which is like a 13-hour drive.

And it was like the only way we can make it work. But, you know, it's like you do some crazy things for love and the people you care about. That's love. That's love. So mirroring what Tara is going through, what was going, like what were your four years of college like? as you guys are like going down your paths um i mean i think my experiences was really great um on the on the opposite side of tar like getting to a school and not really getting like what she was promised or what she was told like i felt everything that the coaches had said to me and everything that

the program was about is like what i got like it you know what what you see is what you get when i came here um and the other thing is like my recruiting problem was very different. Like Tara was the best athlete in the country. She's going to get to college and score points at a collegiate level, like win nationals from as a freshman. I was the first double ampute to ever be running fast enough times to get into the division one and not fast enough to like win NCAAs my freshman year. You know, so it's like I had trouble finding a school who's willing to stick their neck out for me and say like, hey, we believe in you and what you're doing. And we want to like basically. risk a scholarship on you. And so having Arkansas do that was as much of a, like, hey, we got your back as I needed. And, you know, there was ups and downs. But overall, I had a really great college experience. Oh, hi, buddy.

Who's the best? You are. I wish I could spend all day with you instead. Dave, you're off mute. Hey. happens to the best of us enjoy some goldfish cheddar crackers Goldfish have short memories

Be like goldfish Today's episode is brought to you by Aura Frames If you are looking for good Mother's Day gifts Then check out Aura Frames Because these things were named The Number One Digital Frame By Wirecutter

And selected as one of Oprah's favorite things Three years in a row It's guaranteed to make Mom smile It sure is And I would love one babe An aura frame brings you all of your photos and videos together in one gorgeous high-resolution display where mom can really enjoy them, aka not a group text or social media platform. Actually, something you can put on your desktop, which is beautiful.

Preload any frame with meaningful memories and a special message that will appear as soon as it's set up. Invite the whole family to add to the frame from anywhere in the world and feel close to everyone at any time. We have one in our kitchen and we love it. It's fun to load different pictures on there at different phases of life. We'll even change it when we have groups of people over. But one of the most popular gifts for major holidays like Mother's Day, Aura Frames regularly sell out. So make sure that you don't miss out. Get yours at a discount while it lasts.

From now until Mother's Day, listeners can save on the perfect gift and visitoraFrames.com. That's A-U-R-A-Frams.com. Listeners can use code EastFam to get up to $20 off while supplies last. Terms and conditions to apply. Every mom on your list will love this. gift. It's the picture frame reimagined. Remember, get it on this link only atoraframes.com forward slash eavesfam. Let's get back to it. What is the Arkansas pigs, pig?

Raise your back. Woo pig. When boots, too? One of my teammates actually became the head coach of the gymnastics team there. Jordan Weber. Jordan Weaver. Yeah. Weaver. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's super sweet. Yeah. And super great coach. They've done awesome. We have some friends on the gymnastics team. so that's awesome we're big family okay so four years go by

it's now 2020 2021 2020 2021 yeah yeah yeah yeah COVID has hit which I even remember watching

like the pandemic hit with the Olympics and everything and that is that is so hard for an athlete especially a training athlete competing athlete the Olympics the Olympic Trials the Olympic Trials the Olympic

trials everything that throws that throws an entire career's worth of planning off yeah so outside of the personal side how did you guys navigate your professional careers in still trying to make the games but setting it back a year or two one man it's tough i think in our case the postponement actually was really helpful. 2020, Tara was definitely not in a place where, one, she was going to make an Olympic team and two, like, she was mentally ready to take that on. So I think in a way, it came at a time where we really needed just a second to figure out who we were.

And the day after, like, everything got canceled, we were in New Mexico for nationals, got sent home without competing. That next day, we had a meeting with the team and our coaches were like, we don't care where you go you can't stay here like there's nothing before you here so i packed my bags up that day i drove to austin um and i was planning on staying there like a week we'll see what happens and the whole country shut down everything's done and we ended up spending like what six months four months something like that a pretty long amount of time in austin just like us and nothing to do no responsibilities just like it's the greatest time ever figuring out who we were and and and

It was so much fun. Yeah, yeah. Great. Like, I've always had someone telling me what to do or making me go to this place and this place or like, I don't know, just someone in the back of my head. And, like, no one was telling me to do anything. And, like, for the first three days, I was like, this is bad. I need to do something. What's going on?

What's going on? And then I was like, oh, my gosh, I don't have to do anything. And then, like, coaches are like, no more training. Like, the Olympics were done. And I was like, the Olympics are done. Like, what the heck is going on? And once he got there, I was like, oh, this is going to be a great time. This is going to be a great time.

It forced us to figure out who we were if we didn't have track. Because it was like our whole lives have been track, track, track, track. And it's like, in an instant, it was all taken away. It was all taken away. And then it's like, who are you if you're not Tara Davis, the track athlete? And who are you if you're not Hunter Woodhaw, the, you know, the track athlete? it's like yeah it was just it was it was a very like enlightening experience for us i think um so what did you find out uh i can binge watch netflix like so quick like i can i can just

be up i can binge watch two seasons and like literally 24 hours you just that's amazing we did a lot um i think we made a lot of videos made a lot of videos so that's kind of where yeah like our social media like got serious we're like man if track goes away tomorrow and we can't run and we can't like make a living running track like we better have a plan B um so we started getting in that and then also like I have a clothing company that I started literally that same week that all this happened and I don't think it would be where it is if I hadn't had like six months to just put my head down and like work on something outside of you know track so which I took off during that time yeah it was great

great for giant apiece. I feel like the odd man out here because I got like three once in a generation athletes sitting here and I'm the only one who's not that situation. You're an NFL player. Hunter ran a 46 second 400.

Hold on, hold on, let's do something. Let me do this experiment. So we're just going to take a moment of silence for the duration of time. No, stop it. That Hunter would have crossed the 400 meter line and I'm still running. Are you ready? Here we go. Hold your breath. Are you going for 46 seconds? No. Oh, the difference between our PRs. The difference. Ready? So I finished nine

seconds go at this point. I see. I see what we're doing here. And I just crossed the finish line. Wow. You're already like gatorated up. You're already like doing interviews. You took a phone call, said, Mom, this is how I did. Like, yeah, Hucketara. Just like taking a, you probably did a victory lap in that time. That's crazy. And then we got Tara and you, just a little prodigy kids. No. It's just crazy.

And in our bodies like no other. It's just fun. But I don't know what I was going with that. Yeah. So 2021 comes around. Olympic trials come around. How, I want to ask about Olympic trials, but I want to go to the games. how are Olympic trials for you guys?

It's like within your relationship because you're both rooting for each other did you guys feel pressure to both make it were you nervous that like one would and one would not? Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, heck, yeah. Once, what the, I don't know,

once the Olympics started coming around and then I think Twitter and stuff started saying like, oh, Olympic prodigies are they're going to try out for the teams and yada, yada, yada. Yeah, there's like a media thing beforehand of like these two are trying to do it. And then at nationals at NCAAs, they were talking about me making the team. And I was like, we can't talk about that yet because I haven't made the team.

I was like, and it was extra pressure for me because like she's Olympics on Paralympics. The Olympic trials were two weeks before the Paralympic trials. So I was at the Olympic trials, watched her make the team. And then it was like one of two. Like, you know, 50% there. and it's 100% on me to finish it. So, um, or wait, was it? It was me.

Opposite. Yeah. So I made the team and it's hard. I was going to ask who like who technically qualified first because then the second person that that would be hard. Yeah. And I feel like it would be hard for you to Hunter to watch and be like, oh God, please make it.

Yeah. It's one of those things that it's like if you don't make it like it's kind of weird if I'm excited because I made it. Yeah. Yeah, it's a weird dynamic. Even at the meet, I was on the bubble to get to the finals, and I don't know how they were handling that. Yeah, she clutched it though.

Third jump, clutched the back. I think that's the iconic picture we've all seen of like you two hugging on the track, or like up in the stands, maybe. Yeah, I was on the track, he was in the stands basically, yeah. Yeah. That was, that was insane and like, man, exhilarating. Like when I talk about most exciting moments in my life, like when we when we like the third jump was crazy because it was like we think she's good but it's like

you have three more jumps with nine world-class athletes like anything could happen and then that last jump when she jumped and like solidified it was just like wow like just the last it was like thank god these last two years came to something yeah it was worth it and this is why it was incredible summer's here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days to Delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well-groom lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parmesan delivered.

A cabana? That's a no. But a banana? That's a yes. A nice tan. Sorry, nope. But a box fan? Happily, yes. A day of sunshine?

No. A box of fine wines? Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details.

Today's episode is also brought to you by BetterHelp. We've talked to you about BetterHelp before. We've talked to you about mental health before, but May is Mental Health Awareness Month. So let's tell them about Better Health. I really wish BetterHelp had been an option during my career because I love the fact that it's available for everyone everywhere. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, BetterHelp is a great sponsor to come alongside this month to spread awareness. So when you go on BetterHelp, they actually help to assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. It takes a stress out of trying to find someone to be able to talk to on a better.

professional capacity. They are truly awesome. You can even start communicating in under 48 hours with your matched therapist. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It is professional counseling done securely online. You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. Plus, you can schedule weekly video or phone sessions so you won't ever have to sit in an uncomfortable waiting room as with traditional therapy. Yes, and it's also more affordable than traditional offline counseling. Plus, they have financial aid available, which were big fans of. So to review, BetterHelp is customized online therapy that offers video, phone, and even live chat sessions with your therapist. So you don't have to see anyone on camera if you don't

want to. It's much more affordable than in-person therapy. So why don't you give it a try and see if online therapy can help lower your stress? A couple things listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash EastFam. Try it out. Use our code EastFam to get 10% off at BetterHelp.com. Let's get back to it. So going from there to the Olympics, since you have Olympics and Paralympics, were you able to be together for the games, or were you completely separated? You were separated.

We tried so many ins and outs and trying to pull so many strings. We called all our favorites. Oh, no. Because didn't COVID protocol not allow for even spectators or spouses or anybody to, like, stay? Yeah. No one.

And then for us, we had to be 48 hours. after you've competed out of Tokyo, like two days later, you gotta be gone. Yeah. So I couldn't even like stay to watch the rest of the track meet that's going on. And I literally had to leave. Opening or closing ceremonies.

And no, I didn't get to go to opening ceremonies because we could only be in Tokyo five days prior to your event. And mine was like in the middle. And then I had to leave right after. So, and then how is that experience for you guys though? because it's the biggest moment of your careers. You're experiencing it separately, but also probably watching each other on TV.

Did you have to kind of compartmentalize your performance versus each other's? I think we had such an amount of time. Like it was two weeks in between the both of them. So I think we had enough time to kind of like see it, digest what happened. And then be like, so we were together a week. between the two in Arkansas. So I think it was like a time for us to digest like what happened and kind of like just make it real

before I left. And then it was like a different, another experience on top of it. So I don't know, I think it worked out well. Yeah, it's a good, good, quick reset. Tell us the proposal story. Congratulations, by the way. The entire world was waiting for this by the way.

Thank you. Sorry. I said the entire world was waiting for this. Oh, my gosh. We all had to know you guys so well. It was kind of like, when is this going to happen? Every day. No, it was really amazing.

I mean, after the Olympics, like we had planned to go on a trip. We've never been on a vacation. Like, we travel a lot, but it's for track. So it kind of feels like work. So we're like, man, let's do something for us. And we chose to go to Cabo for a week and just like relax and do nothing and just have fun. And I had another exclusive. I had bought the engagement ring in like April.

And this is now like September at this point. Oh my gosh. So I'd had this ring for a long time. And I just didn't really know the right time to do it. And we planned this Cabo trip. And on the last three days, we got this like super insane Airbnb. Like it was like a gift to ourselves for like a really great year. And it was like right on the beach.

it was this beautiful home and it was just like in my head I was like man this is perfect like this is the place to do it and the other thing was like we had six days before that to just enjoy the vacation like I didn't want to make the vacation about like my proposal like I wanted us to enjoy it and then that almost be like the nightcap of the of the trip and so I had talked to my agents A3 and they were making calls we were trying to figure all this out we got like people to come to the beach while we were gone, set up this whole, like, cool, like, gazebo kind of thing and, like, the whole nine yards and, like, somebody to come and take photos and stuff. And then it was just up to me to, like, get tar out of the house for, like, four plus hours. And the other thing

was I have this beautiful ring in my pocket, and I'm walking around downtown Cabo, like, with this ring sitting in my pocket. So I keep, like, checking. I'm stressing. I'm sweating. and I had to do this for like hours. And then we went back to the house and it was like kind of the end of the trip and I was like, I got one more surprise for you. And Tara's like, can I go pee first? And I'm like, this is great.

This is starting out fantastically. I don't know what was going on in your mind at that time. Oh, yeah. I really did have to go pee. I was being fed drinks the entire lunch. and there's like a teepee like this. I really said this before. So there was a teepee like this.

I could see like the top of it. Out the window. And as soon as I turned around, I saw it at the corner of my eye and I was like, and I went to the bathroom and I like, was the bathroom, whatever. And I looked in the mirror. I was like, you're getting engaged.

Yes. And I was like, oh my gosh, it's happening. It's happening. And then we, we, we, I like went down downstairs. Did you suspect anything before that or like during the trip?

No, well obviously like we're in Cabo and like at times come like we checked everything off of our checklist like it would be a perfect time to do it but like by the end of the trip I was like oh it's not grabbing. Oh well.

So you went into the bathroom to go pee Tara and you gave yourself a hype speech or like it was like a looking yourself like a cool running's moment like yelling yourself this is cool don't freak out I was like

I walked out straight-paced do you remember what you remember what you said to her when you proposed a whole lot of real just sappy kind of stuff did you swear he spoke Spanish but I could have been dreaming

you spent Spanish some in there you know winning Cabo yeah do you speak Spanish um no it was great though and honestly like the best trip I've ever had in my life yeah we had so much fun it was a blast so through and through yeah it was great I can't believe you waited for the last day I could not have done that I would have to do it the day we got down to Cabo yeah I just I wanted to keep the you know yeah purpose of the trip the trip so you know

And yeah, I basically planned the trip. So it was like, I didn't expect it to be on the trip that I planned, you know? Like, I was like, wow. Yeah. Wow. Big brain moves. I'd say, Andrew also proposed the day after he got the ring because he couldn't hang on to it any longer.

So I'm impressed with how long you held on to it. That's what I, well, I'm like a last minute, like, I'm going to figure it out right at the end. And that's the plan we're going to go with. So I was like. This is the one thing I'm going to, like, get ahead of time because I knew that when I, like, did it, it was going to be, like, a last minute thing. Like, I was going to plan it last minute. And I know you, like, can't get an engagement ring, like, within three days because that's probably how long it would take me to plan. And so I knew I had to lock that.

Luckily, my best friend owns a jewelry store, too. So it, like, made the process a little bit more streamlined, a little bit easier. Also, I have to ask, who is this? He's adorable. This is Milo. we have a whole zoo of friends and family we got a little another puppy down here her name is winnie she just got groomed today and then she looks good yeah oh that's yeah ilo looks great winnie on the other hand she's good looks cute so how's engagement is it fun yeah it's so much fun

i think what's cool is that like now we live together and like now we are engaged living together I think that, like, brings a cool part of a relationship and a new part of a relationship. There are hard days, like, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Why did you say it like that? Just being honest, you know. It's like, we don't want to put on the front that, like, everything's happy and jolly. Perfect.

You just skip around and blow rainbows every day, you know what I mean? But no, it's, it is really great. It's been super fun living together. just like learning about each other in such a more in-depth way I feel like because distance you just don't get all of that and I'm glad we went through distance though because it was the hardest thing ever and it makes this seem a lot easier feel a lot easier I was going to ask that question though so your first four years of your relationship was long distance you guys have lived together for how long now since August how was that transition because you guys are both athletes you're both very

competitive very driven and to be an elite athlete you have to have a very I don't want to say a selfish mindset but like your career is like your body and your training and now you're living together especially when you live alone yeah so how did how did that transition work for you guys Was it like a big learning curve trying to figure out how to spend every waking second together? Yeah, COVID really helped. Yeah, the six months of COVID was really helpful for us because we kind of like got a, you know. A feel of what it would be like to live together. And like we were stuck in my apartment, like this small apartment for six months.

Like, literally 24 hours of the day. We were inside, like no going outside. So, yeah. And we, the other thing was like, we. knew we weren't going to move into together until after the Olympics. Like Olympics was number one priority. We were staying where we were. We weren't changing anything until the games were over. But we had everything planned out. Like I bought the house that we're in now in March with the intention to move into it together like way down the road. So whenever it was. I lived here for like

seven months with literally a mattress and pretty much nothing else, like a couch that I brought from my college house. Like I lived bare bones and I was fine with it. I was a big fan. So when she moved in, it was kind of like a smoother transition. And she made a real big sacrifice. Like she left everything in Austin so we could like start our lives here in Fayetteville, which I think was like the biggest decision of like who's going to leave their their current, you know, life. Man, Fayetteville is popping though, isn't it? Yeah. It was so fun here.

I actually like it. Yeah, Fayville's a groovy little town. Yeah. What are you guys' goals, like, with your relationship together, like as a family, Olympic-wise, talk to us? Man, we're getting a lot of exclusives here. The current plan is to hang up the spikes after 2024. I think that we understand that there's a lot more to life.

than just this sport. And we kind of thought, like, if we don't have a hard deadline, it's always gonna be like, oh, let's see what happens next year. You know what I mean? Whereas now it's like, we're done after 2024,

let's like squeeze this limit as much as we can. You know, like let's get everything we want out of the sport. So when it's over, we don't walk away like, man, I wish I would have done X, Y, and Z. So that's our plan. And then after that, like, just wanna focus on, you know, our relationship, being happy,

like traveling a lot traveling yeah just like living our lives like all the things that we didn't get to do because of the athletic sacrifices we've made for the past you know memorable times in our lives um and then you know I don't know if we've figured out what we want to do as far as a family and stuff but we're kind of taking it as as we go when's the wedding October 16th oh really this year yeah that's awesome yeah I'm super excited I've been wedding planning for the past couple days now i've been kind of playing it off but i'm starting to envision yeah yeah and with like track like we had to do in the off season and october is like our favorite month the beautiful month in texas so it's like we either had 11 months or 20 months like

it was either like two years or one year and so it worked out really well so it's been it's been good well we just marked her calendars we're so excited and honored to to join you on that day she's Yeah, we will be adding y'all to the list. No, just wait to, I don't know if you made the list yet. It's, like, it's crazy. You have to start axing people like, I don't know if Aunt Peggy makes the list.

We got to take her off. My mom, she said, her list. I was like, who is this? Uh-huh. It's the parents list that get you. I never even imagined it. And then you'll do like a, yeah, and you'll get like a seating chart from them

and they'll be like, oh, my best friend Peggy needs to be sitting at the head. table. I'm like, excuse me? What? Yeah. But it's crazy. My favorite question to ask. We asked some of our friends last night these questions. First,

you have to choose who goes first without knowing the question. Okay. I'll go. Okay. Whoa. She usually doesn't do that. Damn, Tara just steps up and makes place. What's your favorite thing about Hunter? His personality.

He has a great personality. I don't know. He's just always happy and always bubbly, and I'm always the one that really feels moody. And, like, for him, he's just, he's always a light. And it's insane how just, like, joyful of this kid is. He's really sweet. Yeah, you're welcome. Dang. Okay, Hunter. On our entire relationship for, like, the first two, three years of our relationship, you could not get her to say something nice about me. Like, if someone's like,

what do you love about Hunter, you'd be like, what, just couldn't do it. Yeah, it was just one of those mental blocks, where I just wouldn't, I wouldn't express feelings. No, you're a sappy little, sappy little girl. Okay. Okay. What's your favorite thing about Tara? My favorite thing about Tara is definitely, like, her resilience and ability to fight through difficult times, like, what we've talked about. Like, that, that showed me everything that I needed to know, to, like, know that, you know, that I love her and she's the one for me is, like,

I saw how difficult it was and I saw how, like, challenging that part of her life was and to see how she handled it. And then in the end, like, overcame it. It's like, I don't know, it's insane. And I think it's just like, if you can be with somebody at their, you know, quote unquote, rock bottom and and see them through that, like, I think you learn a lot about a person. And yeah, I mean, it's just crazy. So I was like, I know if we go through some, some bad stuff, some rocky spot. thoughts like i got a co-pilot who's ready to you know take it on so i love that thanks it's cool i kind of like uh how you were describing dealing with the adversity i feel like there's so many like self-help or like motivational books where it's like ah just freaking think the right way and you can get out of the situation but sometimes it does help to kind of just be in the moment like like feel the pain with the hope and expectation that it ends but like you know you being together and like just comforting and being an ear

for each other is is a wise way to approach that so hats off to to both of you um where does social media play uh in the future post 2024 um I think like a fairly big part um I think ideally we would like to like move away from like the short form content, which is kind of where like I definitely got my start and kind of like what kick started the social media stuff and get more into like long form stuff. So we're really putting a lot of time energy and effort into like YouTube. We really have like goals to start our own podcast at some point. And things that are like a little bit less like gritty like just little things here and there and more like big picture like really um just i don't know yeah more more stuff yeah less quality over quantity i

should say because with like the short form it's like post something new every day come with a creative idea and it's exhausting you know whereas like we can make one bad a video every week on youtube that we really love and that really shows like who we are so yeah i think more of that Who love social media and the process of creation more between you two? This guy. Yeah. Same setup. Bro, I would, I freaking love it.

I love it. I will watch videos on all of it all day. And Sean's like, just tell me. Tell me what you're doing to do. Yeah, you just explain this dynamic perfectly. Like, you know, I'm about it. Like, everything, everything you just said. And even, like, past, like, just to creating, like, I love, like, the technology.

I love cameras. all of this stuff and I'm like I'm constantly learning um about more of it and tara just like i don't care just like what do i need to go let me know when you start a podcast this whole thing so we just like finish the studio and the whole like uh the mics with the light hold on let me see like the lighting and stuff it's like rough it looks great ridiculous it took us but it's always a learning process and i feel like that's what carrying over with the with the athletic mindset it's like there's always something I could improve at. Yeah.

Yeah, it's freaking, I love it. No, I'm the same way. Like, I'm very, like, task-oriented. Sean, did you come up with the studio yourself, the idea? No. Well, yes, and no. The decor, yes. Yeah.

The functionality. No. No, well, I'm talking about the decor. I don't get about it. Like, no idea. It looks so good. Thank you. I'm so proud of you.

I'm going to get to inspiration. Yes. We have a, like, a whole room upstairs just dedicated. to convert it into like a studio for ourselves. It's not going anywhere right now. It's hard. It is hard. Well, we're not.

It's really hard. With Amex Platinum, access to exclusive Amex pre-sale tickets can score you a spot track side. So being a fan for life turns into the trip of a lifetime. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Pre-sale tickets for future events subject to availability and varied by race. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at MX.ca.

slash Yanax. And today's episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. You know what happened recently? What? We almost ran out of Athletic Greens and I freaked out. But just when I thought there was no hope, a new box showed up by our doorstep. It's comical because I think we have 20 pounds of Athletic Greens sitting on our dining table right now. And we go through it. Yes. So if you guys are new to the AG1 lifestyle, Athletic Greens is your, how would I say it, all your nutritional gaps in one scoop of a greens powder. That's right. With just one delicious scoop of athletic greens, you're absorbing 75 high quality vitamins, minerals, whole food, source, superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens to help you start your day right. If you guys were to ask what one supplement you should take a day, I would say athletic greens. And the reason why is because athletic greens supports your gut health, your nervous system, your immune system, your energy, recovery, focus, and aging.

It's a lot of things. I love the fact that I can use it every single day and it's so convenient with its travel. packs. Not only is it healthy and convenient, it's priced at an amazing rate. It's less than $3 a day. That's right. Right now, it's time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient daily nutrition. And to make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a free one-year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athletic greens.com forward slash EastFam. Again, that is athletic greens.com forward slash eastfam to take ownership over your health and pick

the ultimate daily nutritional insurance let's get back to it hunter feels like the old soul wise man tara's like here for a good time type yeah i got to me i got to make him young boy this girl like freshman in sophomore year oh my gosh like a chick could party like she's down to have a good time and like yeah i think it's partly where i'm like i was raised in utah um and i'm and I'm not LDS myself, but like a lot of the people that I were around was LDS. So there wasn't drinking, there wasn't smoking, there wasn't parties. Like, if we wanted to have a good time, we would like jump in our car and go drive to an abandoned house. That was a good time for us in a weekend high school.

So like, when I met Tara and when I came to college, I was like, this is just. My weekends were like, the parties I attended in high school were better than the ones I attended in college. Oh, gosh. Yeah. So my, it was fun, though. But I'm glad I got out very young. Yeah, junior year came around and you were like, none of it. I was like, I'm ready to stay inside.

Now I'm more like, this party. You described that dynamic perfectly for us, where I was like, I had not had a sip of alcohol. None of like, no, what do you call it, vices before I met Sean. And then it's like, bro, you got me. Okay, okay, okay. Exclusive, exclusive. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Last question for you guys. Yeah. Out of, like, track, college, you're dating, your long distance, now engagement. If you were to, like, pass it on, what's the best piece of advice you would give about relationships? Communication. Yeah, which is like a very broad term. Yeah, but it's so true. For me, the big, I'll make it specific.

Like the biggest thing that I've learned is like, I feel like it's now like a popular thing to say, but like gaslighting like the term, which is basically like not validating somebody's feelings. And I think like a lot of times it's easy for you in a relationship to have your partner say something. And you base like the value of that statement on how you feel about it or how it would affect you. And then it's like changing that and being like, my partner is not going to tell. me something is not going to express something to me that isn't an actual feeling that they're experiencing, right? So it's like learning to not only like hear somebody saying something, but taking it very genuinely. Like this is, this is genuinely what they mean. This is how they feel

and like working on things and taking steps to like actually make it better. And we're not perfect at it, but I feel like we are like getting better. So that would be my, that would be my deep listening. I like that. Just. So you guys can look back on this and laugh. What are your expectations for how marriage will change your relationship? I'm putting her name on all the bills. A lot cheaper for me. No, I don't know.

I think the bit actually I do know. What I think my expectation is that people outside of our relationship will take us more seriously. like we were dating for four years and people very much treated it as like oh you're dating you're two separate people you're not like if that makes sense it's like almost like with the anticipation of you breaking up yeah so and like there's just oh well that's just not going to last type of situation so now it's like we are we are coming we are going to wherever we're going as the woodhalls like as as as a married couple not as tar and hunter individually being similar so you know marriage is the freaking dopest i love it and i'm excited for you guys also just

honestly big fans of your approach uh how you've overcome your adversities uh you know in kind you've each had such an amazing story and i appreciate you coming on sharing it with us uh i cannot wait to see you guys crush life and your careers through 2024 and then also afterwards, which I think will be even more successful and even bigger. So anyway, honored to meet you, and thank you for giving us the time of day. Yeah. Thank you. This is so much fun. Yeah, we had so much fun. The anticipation of this was just so good. Yeah. You guys are taking any new like applications for friends or stuff you're looking for you're on the show you're a friend already no we're not applications are closed all right guys have a good one thank you guys thank you