When Michael Phelps and his fiancée Nicole Johnson caught their first glimpse of his new Under Armour ad, it reduced them to tears.
It is no surprise the pair had such an emotional reaction to the clip. The life of the most prolific Olympic athlete in history has seen its share of highs and lows following his retirement announcement after the 2012 Olympics. After announcing his return to competitive swimming in 2014, Phelps was charged with his second DUI in 10 years. (RELATED: Greatest Olympian Of All Time Michael Phelps Reveals He Was Suicidal)
“I think that commercial — I mean you saw us; we’re in tears — that commercial shows a lot of amazing things about me that probably the world has never seen,” said Phelps, sporting a Steph Curry-branded Under Armour hat. “When I said in the Joe Buck interview, ‘the world is going to see the real Michael Phelps.’ And that’s what I’m excited about.”
New #RuleYourself spot featuring @MichaelPhelps drops tomorrow. See his emotional reaction the first time he saw it.https://t.co/gc6OclXLOB
— Under Armour (@UnderArmour) March 7, 2016
The allure of the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio proved too much for Phelps to sit quietly on the sidelines. With a Brett Favre-esque un-retirement announcement, Phelps could add more medals to his world record-count of 22.
The minute-and-a-half spot is the latest in Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” series that features the brand’s top athletes, including Stephen Curry, Jordan Spieth, Misty Copeland and Tom Brady.
After they watched the commercial with Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, Phelps’ fiancée explained her emotional response.
“It’s knowing what he sacrificed and being able to see it on the screen. It’s cool. It’s really cool,” Johnson, a former Miss California winner, said. (RELATED: Michael Phelps Gets Engaged to Nicole Johnson)