Yahoo News Suni Lee Says She Got 'So Much Hate' Over Relationship With Boyfriend Jaylin Smith
After wowing fans and judges over the weekend at the US Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, Suni Lee is on the road to Paris. The 23-year-old will officially appear at the Olympic trials, getting one step closer to officially becoming part of Team USA.
“this one hit different. see you at olympic trials!!!!🥹😭❤️,” Suni wrote on Instagram following her performance over the weekend, where she placed fourth overall. (Simone Biles claimed the top spot.)
While Suni has no shortage of followers and fans, one in particular has been by her side through it all: her boyfriend, Jaylin Smith. Here's everything to know about her relationship.
Who is Suni Lee’s boyfriend, Jaylin Smith?
Jaylin is an athlete himself, playing football for the University of Southern California. The 5'11" cornerback is in his senior year at the school. In his three-year career, Jaylin has made 123 tackles and an interception, appearing in 33 games with 22 starts, per his bio.
As part of his NIL (name, image, and likeness) rights, Jaylin works with House of Victory, which collects donations to provide paid opportunities to USC athletes. In an April Instagram video, Jaylin showed his excitement to work with the House of Victory again:
He once appeared in a Snoop Dogg docuseries.
When Jaylin was a teenager, he was one of the stars of the Netflix series Coach Snoop, which followed rapper Snoop Dogg and his youth football team as they tried for a national title. Jaylin—who went by "J-Roc" on the show—was a favorite among the fans and coaches, Snoop Dogg shared.
“J-Roc, he's a different kind of kid," Snoop said during the series, per 24-7 Sports. "Definitely one of my favorites.”
In Coach Snoop, Jaylin discussed the tragic loss of his mother, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident a few years before the show aired.
"Every time I scored, I'd hear her screaming on the sideline. So you know, I miss her being on the sideline with me. I cry sometimes, but I don't like to show my emotions on anything. I'm a strong guy," he said during the series. "Imma grieve on the field. I'm gonna make sure you feel it, because you on a different team from me."
Suni and Jaylin went Instagram official in 2021.
The couple became Instagram official in 2021 in a since-deleted post, per NBC. The Olympic gold medalist posted a few snaps of herself cuddling Jaylin, simply captioning it with a heart emoji, according to People.
Unfortunately for fans, the pair appears to be pretty private and doesn’t post too much of each other online.
She’s received "so much hate" since debuting her relationship.
Suni has shared that she received a ton of negative comments about her relationship from her own Hmong-American community.
In January 2022, the Minnesota native responded to a TikTok from user alixphom, who captioned a video, "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."
"This makes me so happy," she commented, per People. "I've received so much hate😭 they support me when it's beneficial for them never when it comes to my happiness. thank you!💗"
Keep doing you, Suni and Jaylin!
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