Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone may be one of the most dominant track and field stars of our time. But she’s only human. Just like the normal population in the world, she too has had her share of issues in her personal life. She talked about one of them in her book ‘Far from Gold,’ where she had gone to meet her high school boyfriend in 2016 and planned to ask him out.

However, when Sydney asked him whether he could see himself in a relationship with her, he bluntly replied, “I don’t think so.” This left her heart broken and cautious about finding another person. Thus, when the love of her life knocked on her door, Sydney was initially quite skeptical about him. This was when Andre Levrone Jr. just started following her Instagram account.

In her book ‘Far Beyond Gold‘, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spoke about her first impression of André’s social media. In those days, the hurdler used to check her following to see if any guy with a blue checkmark had followed her. As she was only 21 at the time, it was tough for her not to experience a thrill by this.

One day, she was normally scrolling down through her phone to check for people with a blue mark. That’s where she saw him. “That’s when I saw his name: Andre Levrone Jr. I’d never heard of him. I clicked on his profile. A Christian. Hmm, interesting. Football player. Very interesting. Wide receiver at the University of Virginia. A couple of years in the NFL, playing for the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers. And handsome. Very handsome,” said Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

This piqued her interest, and she decided to continue stalking his account. She found many things that interested her, which included his football career. But Sydney wasn’t interested in the sport. The hurdler saw that even while he was playing the sport, André was quite dedicated to his religion.

“On a picture of Andre running with the ball during practice, a teammate suspended in midair behind him, the caption read: ‘My hope is not in the path; my hope is in Jesus’ promise.’ Another photo showed him at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, standing next to a sign with a caption that read: ’66 books written by over 40 authors, spanning 4000 years. The pillars of Hope, faith, LOVE, & obedience that are inside make life so much more fulfilling!'” Sydney felt all of this was too good to be true.

“His Instagram account wasn’t all about him. I didn’t know guys did that.” Thus, she approached one of her high school friends who went to University of Virginia to contact him. The rest, as they say, is history. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Andre Levrone Jr. have now been happily married for two years and the hurdler seems to have finally buried ghosts from her past, which seemed to bother her a lot at that time.

How Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spiralled down mentally with insecurities

In 2019, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was already a decently successful athlete. She had almost everything an individual of that age desires: “the Instagram followers, the money, the status.” But still, her success wasn’t satisfying to her. The hurdler started thinking that maybe she might never find happiness through external validation. This made her go down a dark road as she fell into depression.

Social media was also proving to be quite a dangerous place for her, as while it did provide her momentary pleasure, her insecurities started being magnified. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone fell into the trap of comparing herself to other women on the platform. “Was I not a real woman? Was I lacking properties of what made a true woman? Did God do me dirty in this area of life?” To fill the void, Sydney threw herself into perfecting her image.

“I learned how to do my makeup, and I learned how to do it well,” she wrote in her book. Slowly, she started to put in an increased effort in the posts that she would upload on her Instagram. This is because she felt temporary satisfaction when people would give her likes and comments. But soon, Sydney realized that this attention faded quickly, and she understood that it was not her path to happiness.0

“I let my worth be dictated by an algorithm. Where is the security in that?” she asked in her book. This is when Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone decided to dedicate her time to religion and found solace in it. She was away from the rat race of trends on the internet and was on a path to change herself. Today, she along with her husband Andre live happily as devout Christians. Hopefully, she has left feeling insecure and started appreciating herself and her numerous achievements.