Relationship Expert Says Zac Efron and Simone Biles Could Be a Great Power Couple

We all have a celeb crush or two — even record-breaking Olympians. On “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2016, U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles revealed her crush on movie star Zac Efron. Efron proceeded to address the crush on X (formerly Twitter), and an internet flirtation that left fans swooning commenced. The pair went on to meet in real life, but it didn’t seem to go further than that. Years later, we’re left wondering: was the romance between the leading man and the superstar athlete anything more than innocent flirting? According to a professional matchmaker, it could have been a definite love match, and we’re here for all the reasons why.

While Biles technically made the first move by spreading the word about her crush, Efron kicked off their legendary internet interaction. After news broke on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Efron retweeted Biles’ photo, captioning it with a “Good luck at the Olympic trials” for Biles. The gymnast had the most relatable response, writing, “OH MY GOSH I THINK I AM GOING TO PASS OUT OH MY GOSH CRYING! THANK YOU,” and the back-and-forth continued. Cute? Yes, but did they really have potential?

Relationship expert Susan Trombetti, CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, thinks yes. After all, as she put it, “Who wouldn’t want to see Simone, America’s sweetheart, with Zac Efron?”

When Zac Efron and Simone Biles were chatting each other up on X back in 2016, the world was invested in this made-for-fan-fiction story. “At first, it was innocent banter like when someone has a celebrity crush, but then it turned into ‘Is it cute or is it actual flirting?’ going on, leaving us to guess. They were almost flirting with us, and their flirtation was adorable,” explained Trombetti.

Efron ultimately made the biggest gesture in the whole flirtation-ship by surprising Biles and her teammates on “The Today Show.” Efron and Biles ended up giving each other a smooch on the cheek and posted photos of the rendezvous on social media. Biles even captioned her Instagram post “on cloud 9” and tagged Efron.

This interaction was a total dream come true for Biles, but Trombetti thinks it was also evidence of their potential compatibility. “The cute banter going back and forth on X shows a strong connection, along with the fact that he flew to meet her during the last Olympics,” Trombetti explained. She added that Biles “is a superstar, and he would be lucky to have her, given the comfort and ease they displayed with each other and the strong connection visible in the cheek kisses.”

A couple needs more than a mutual crush to make a lasting relationship work. It’s impossible to know all of the factors that might have prevented Simone Biles and Zac Efron from really becoming an item. Trombetti noted that when the two met, “Zac just went through a breakup and perhaps would have still been processing it back then and was not ready for another serious relationship.” Efron had just called it quits with businesswoman Sami Miró after nearly two years together. Trombetti also explained that actually ending up with your celeb crush may not be all it’s cracked up to be. “We sometimes build crushes up in our heads to what we think they are like and then find out they are human and not the perfect person we imagined,” she said.

Since their meeting, a bigger roadblock in their potential romance has revealed itself. “Alas, that strong connection is probably going to be a friendship for now since [Biles] is married,” Trombetti noted. In 2023, Biles tied the knot with football player Jonathan Owens. So, like most celebrity crushes in history, this one may have to remain the stuff of daydreams. If fate were to bring them together again, though, who knows. As Trombetti put it, “I don’t know if there is anything about them in particular that suggests things wouldn’t have worked out.”