“Will You Please Adopt Us?”: Former President Barack Obama Accepted an Unusual Request From Simone Biles’ Teammates in 2016

Published 10/18/2022, 10:45 AM EDT
It was the 2016 Summer Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. The United States women’s team had made it to the final in artistic gymnastics. Famously dubbed as the Final Five, the team comprised, Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman.
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The team put on a historic performance to leave behind Russia, and China, to claim the gold medal in this event. After the event, the Final Five visited the White House, where they had an interaction with Barack, and Michelle Obama.
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Simone Biles’ teammates had a bizarre request for Barack Obama
Following their historic triumph, Simone Biles‘ teammate, Laurie Hernandez narrated an interesting anecdote about their visit to the White House. Talking about the incident, she said, “We jokingly said to President Obama, ‘Will you please adopt us?’ And he said, ‘Oh sure, my oldest is going to college, so we need someone to fill in the space!’ He said, ‘You can have sleepovers and pizza!’ We said, ‘Yes please!’ They were really nice.”
TOKYO, JAPAN: Simone Biles during warm-ups prior to the Women’s Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo, Japan | Credits: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Further, it was a dream-come-true moment for the Final Five team members. However, Gabby Douglas couldn’t visit the White House due to medical reasons.
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Revealing her emotions after her visit to the White House, Hernandez said, “The White House lived up to my expectations — it was really nice! How I thought it would be was what it was really like — it was just like on TV — there was a lot of marble and statues and art, and it was really cool.”
Biles shows off her wedding dress
Earlier this week, the American star took to Instagram, to share a glimpse of her wedding dress. It is designed by Israeli designer, Galia Lahav.
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Watch This Story: Facts about Simone Biles that proves she’s the GOAT in more ways than one
The legendary gymnast will tie the knot with Jonathan Owens. The latter plays in the NFL for Houston Texans. The two got engaged earlier this year and have planned to tie the knot next year. Recently, Biles also shared a picture of attending Owens’ NFL game on her official Instagram handle.