“I just lost $200 to…,” Simone Biles posted in August 2023. It had been nearly two years since she watched her teammate defy gravity, crush the uneven bars, and—true to her word—drop into an unexpected dance celebration on the mat. Simone, ever the competitor, had screamed with pride, but when the adrenaline cooled, she was left $200 lighter. She couldn’t believe she’d lost the bet. “Never again,” she had vowed silently. Now, in 2025, the time has come. Simone was ready. The plan? Epic. The execution? Flawless. The element of surprise? Impeccable. So, was she successful?

Simone knew her gymnastics mate was clever. Pulling this off wouldn’t be easy. But she had an ace up her sleeve: she had been quietly plotting the ultimate surprise visit to Zoe Miller’s gymnastics camp at LSU—the Tigers’ den in Baton Rouge. The plan? Simple: 1. Secretly book the trip. 2. Sneak into town without a trace. 3. Shock Zoe at her camp with the ultimate ‘gotcha’ moment. But there was one tiny flaw in the blueprint. Biles had underestimated her opponent’s sharpness—and the power of social media.

Somewhere on her sneaky road trip to Baton Rouge, Simone posted a seemingly innocent Instagram story. It showed her crossing a bridge, with the caption: “road trip [eye emoji].” She figured it was vague enough—just a casual travel update. Surely, Zoe wouldn’t connect the dots. Wrong. So very wrong!

Unbeknownst to Simone, Zoe was already on high alert. Whether by sixth sense or sheer coincidence, Zoe happened to check Simone’s live location just 45 minutes before the surprise was meant to unfold. And there it was—the giveaway. The map revealed a tiny dot labeled “Simone Biles” crawling suspiciously close to Baton Rouge. And Simone’s cover? Blown!

And you can guess the next line of events. Well, when Simone arrived, she got to know about her cover being blown. Meanwhile, she posted a selfie with Zoe on the sidelines of Alex Box Stadium, the LSU Tigers’ iconic home for baseball. The caption read, “tried to surprise her but she happened to check my location 45 mins out 😂.” Busted. Completely. The kicker? 

Still, despite the failed surprise, the moment was golden. The two friends reunited at Zoe’s stomping grounds. Simone might have lost the element of surprise, but she definitely won the day with friendship, nostalgia, and maybe—just maybe—the spark of a new bet. But there was still something waiting to shock her. 

Simone Biles was left in surprise by something on the campus

Simone Biles had seen plenty of jaw-dropping sights in her career—gravity-defying routines, Olympic podiums, and world records shattered. But during her 2025 trip to Baton Rouge, she came face-to-face with something truly wild: Mike the Tiger. 

While visiting her longtime friend Zoe Miller at LSU, the 11-time Olympic medalist made a detour to Mike the Tiger’s habitat on North Stadium Drive. And let’s just say—she was not prepared for what she saw. The massive, majestic what looked like a Bengal tiger—the only live tiger living on a college campus in the U.S.—prowled his lush, massive habitat with regal ease. Simone must have been wide-eyed with amazement as she stood by the viewing area, trying to process the sight of a full-grown tiger casually living at a university. Her reaction? 

Pure awe. Simone quickly took to her Instagram story, capturing the moment with the caption: “this is wiiiillldddd, a whole tiger living on campus 🤯.” Touché. Simone may have lost the element of surprise on Zoe, but she definitely didn’t see Mike coming. What do you call it? Another bingo was scored by Zoe while the LSU campus remained the partner in crime. The choice is yours. However, Zoe had hit another shot recently.