After capturing national attention for his Olympic heroics, gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik is back in the spotlight, after news surfaced that he and his long‑time partner parted ways. The internet quickly seized on the breakup, claiming political tensions were at the heart of the split, following which Nedoroscik’s ex‑girlfriend stepped in to set the record straight.
Tess McCracken, the Olympian’s ex-girlfriend, addressed rumors of their breakup via a video on TikTok, which led to speculation about why they broke up. A large number of fans and critics alike believed it was due to a political difference.
“Ugh why do I think it over a difference of political beliefs?,” a commenter wrote.
However, McCracken immediately shut that down, writing, “I can assure you it was not. We are both very blue.”
That does, however, bring an end to a ten-year-plus relationship between the two athletes, as McCracken is a former gymnast, having competed for Penn State. That is where Stephen Nedoroscik and McCracken met, as freshmen at Penn State and began dating in July 2016. That continued well into the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the now 26-year-old Stephen Nedoroscik went viral.
That was thanks to his composure and the strength of his pommel horse routine, which was the only reason that the American qualified for Team USA’s Olympic team. And Stephen Nedoroscik showed exactly why, sitting on the sidelines for nearly three hours during the team event before stepping up.
That comes as no shock, especially as Nedoroscik had finished second during the Olympic trials, level on scores with Rhys McClenaghan, but advanced based on his higher execution score. He then helped Team USA qualify fifth and had to wait nearly three hours before he could perform, pulling off his routine almost flawlessly to help them win a bronze medal.
It was Team USA’s first team medal since the 2008 Olympics, and Stephen Nedoroscik followed that up with an individual bronze medal as well. And along the way, Tess McCracken was loving the attention her now-ex-boyfriend was getting, reposting and retweeting all the memes that flooded the internet at the time.
That fame continued after the Olympics as well. Nedoroscik appeared on several shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. McCracken traveled with him to New York for the appearance, and the two even walked the red carpet at the 2024 Emmys.
However, speculation and many fans’ questions about whether the couple had broken up eventually led the former Penn State gymnast to release a statement on the matter via TikTok.
Tess McCracken reflects on the breakup with Stephen Nedoroscik
That happened after images of the couple disappeared from McCracken’s social media pages, with fans across social media and Reddit wondering if things had changed. This included Stephen Nedoroscik’s page as well, where the 26-year-old had consistently posted about their relationship.
And the speculation kept rising with Tess McCracken unable to post anything on social media without fans commenting about the relationship. It eventually led her to release a video about the speculation and confirmed that she and Stephen Nedoroscik had broken up in January 2026.
“Stephen and I are no longer together, and we haven’t been since the beginning of January,” McCracken said via TikTok as per The Spun.com. “I’ve been putting off making a formal announcement like this for the last few months, but it’s been long enough, and people figured it out.”
“[My] social media has been cleaned out. I can’t post anything now without getting at least a few comments and I know there have been multiple Reddit threads. And so, I feel like it’s just easier to have it out in the open and not really have to hide it anymore.”
Stephen Nedoroscik and McCracken had been together for just over ten years at the time, and she admitted they both felt it was time to go their separate ways.
“There wasn’t some big blow-up fight where somebody stormed out,” McCracken added. “There wasn’t any cheating … This wasn’t, you know, I’d put an ultimatum of ‘propose by New Year’s, or I’m gone’ kind of thing — none of that,” she said.
“We were together for almost 10 years. We met and got together when we were 17 and 18….As it turns out, there are things that didn’t matter at 18 that matter when you’re in your late 20s. And things that mattered then that don’t anymore and… life happens.”
Now that the speculation has been put to rest, McCracken has made it clear there was no drama behind the split, just a natural end to a long relationship. For Stephen Nedoroscik, the focus now shifts back to his career, while both move forward separately after nearly a decade together.
