"I didn't want to force Andre to quit his job" - When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke on navigating her relationship with her husband amid relocation

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote about the time she had to make a few difficult choices between her personal and professional life. In her book Far Beyond From Gold, the athlete opened up about having disagreements with her husband, Andre Levrone, while deciding where to live amid his job in Baltimore and her training in Los Angeles.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Andre first met each other through a mutual friend but did not speak to each other in that meeting. They didn't interact with each other until Andre messaged her, and they started off as friends. Andre asked the athlete to do Bible readings with him, which made McLaughlin-Levrone sure of having the former as her partner.

After dating for some time, the couple got engaged in 2021 on the Olympic Champion's birthday. She was surprised by Andre on the hotel's lawn, where he was sitting down on one knee. The couple got married on May 5, 2022, at Early Mountain Vineyards in Madison, Virginia.

However, amid this smooth love story, things were also a bit rocky initially for the couple when it came to professional decisions. In her book, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed how she used to have disagreements and frustrations with Andre while deciding where to live despite their different work commitments. He was then working in real estate in Baltimore, and she had to train with Bobby in Los Angeles. She revealed that she did not want Andre to leave his job for her.

"While Andre and I were trying to navigate relationships with family, we also had to decide where to live. This decision introduced new kinds of uncertainty, frustrations, a few disagreements with Andre, and temptations to fear," said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. "At the time, Andre was working in commercial real estate in Baltimore. I was training with Bobby in Los Angeles. I didn’t want to force Andre to quit his job and move across the country to support my career."

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed how she finally settled in Los Angeles after disagreements with husband Andre Levrone

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's disagreement with Andre Levrone- Source: Getty

In the aforementioned context of her book, Far Beyond From Gold, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone revealed the situation with her coach, Bobby, and said how he was ready to adjust for her for some time and flew to Arizona every month and tried coaching her on Facetime. However, despite these efforts, the coach said that it wasn't good for her career.

"I couldn’t ask Bobby to leave Los Angeles. I wasn’t the only runner he coached. Not to mention he had called Los Angeles home for decades. But there would be no switching coaches," Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wrote. "Bobby and I had developed too much of a bond.” For a few weeks, Bobby was open to the possibility of coaching me from LA. He’d fly out to Arizona a few times a month and FaceTime during practices to give me instructions and check on my progress."

"But after giving it some thought, Bobby decided that wasn’t what was best for my career. I can’t do long-distance coaching,” Bobby said. He’s as old-school as it gets, in the best possible way. “If I’m going to get your best from you, I got to be with you day in and day out."

She then opened up about how Andre was extremely supportive of her decision to move to Los Angeles and "didn't hesitate" to quit his job.

"I knew he was right. And I knew I couldn’t leave Bobby. With Arizona off the table, Andre didn’t hesitate to quit his job and move to Los Angeles. Finally, after more than a year of getting to know each other from opposite coasts, we lived in the same city. No more figuring out time-zone differences.”

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone concluded her Paris Olympics campaign in August 2024 with two gold medals in the 400m hurdle and the 4x400m relay dashes.