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Shaun White is a professional snowboarder who has won three Olympic gold medals. He is in South Korea, and just took home his third gold in the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. This was his fourth Winter Games; he previously competed in Turin in 2006, in Vancouver in 2010, and in Sochi in 2014.
White is dating musician Sarah Barthel. You may recognize her name from the music business — she makes up one half of the electro-rock group Phantogram. She has been dating White for about five years now.
Here is what you need to know:
1. She Has Been Dating White Since 2013
Barthel and White started dating in 2013. They met just before he left fot the Sochi Winter Games. According to Bleacher Report, Barthel remembers White as “this wild child, just all over the place—in a good way,” back then.
The two have been pretty consistent over the years, but they have yet to take that next step in their relationship. It’s something that White has thought about, but getting married just doesn’t seem to be at the top of his to-do list, at least not right now.
“I’m pretty happy with how things are going and I think a family is a little far out for me with so much going on, but I could see myself settling down at some point. I’ve just been so busy and wrapped up in the sport. You get this tunnel vision honestly and it’s like, friends and family and relationships, it all gets put on the sidelines,” White told Us Weekly back in November.
Just last year, White bought a home in Los Angeles, California. The $1.6 million pad features two bedrooms and two bathrooms. According to Variety, White “purchased a 50 percent undivided interest in the property.” Chatter in the real estate world suggests that Barthel purchased the other 50 percent.
White also owns property in Park City, Utah, New York City’s East Village, and in Malibu, California.
It is presumed that Barthel will be heading to South Korea to watch White compete in the coming weeks. According to her band’s website, she doesn’t have a show scheduled until March 3.
2. She Is in the Rock Group Phantogram & Has an Estimated Net Worth of $3 Million
Barthel is a musician and is one half of the electro-rock group, Phantogram, which was formed in 2007. The band’s other half is Josh Carter. They actually went to preschool together and became friends in junior high. Barthel and Carter started working together after college. The two are ridiculously close and have a brother-sister type of relationship.
Barthel quite enjoys being part of a band and seems to embrace breaking the female-pop-star-mold. She sings, plays the keyboard, and also writes music.
“I play in a band, and people don’t see it as much—they just see pop stars, and if you’re female you should be a Taylor Swift or something. But I’m not that, and I don’t want to be that. I represent a different part of the music industry, so I’m at festivals with all the dudes while Taylor Swift’s at all the arenas playing for kids. It’s just different, but we’re all doing our thing,” Barthel told Marie Claire in June 2017.
And Barthel seems to be doing quite well for herself. According to Celebrity New Worth, Barthel has an estimated net worth of $3 million.
3. Her Sister, Rebecca, Committed Suicide in 2016
Two years ago, Barthel’s only sister, Rebecca, committed suicide. Rebecca suffered from anxiety and depression for several years, and took her own life in 2016.
“My sister Becky suffered from depression and anxiety her entire life. Everyday things that seemed normal to me – the first day of school, going to visit friends somewhere crowded – were always difficult for her. We didn’t think of depression and anxiety as being illnesses, and my parents dealt with her like a ‘troubled teenager,’ always hoping she would grow out of it. She also resorted to alcohol – i.e. self-medication – to deal with everyday life situations. She had attempted suicide a couple of times when she was younger…but it was never anything we talked about,” Barthel told the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
At the time, White had been in Switzerland. He boarded a flight to Los Angeles to be with Barthel as soon as he could.
“He made sure to take care of me,” Barthel told Bleacher Report.
Additionally, Barthel’s good friend, Miley Cyrus, really helped her get through the difficult time following Becky’s death.
“Miley Cyrus has been a huge outlet for me on this, she’s been a huge support and kind of helped me get through it. She always wants to help kids who are feeling different. We’re going to be speaking out more and donating in some areas of our tours to charities that work with kids,” Barthel told The ALT in January 2017.
4. Her Dog, Leroy, Has His Own Instagram Account
Barthel’s dog, Leroy, made his Instagram debut in a video posted by his human mom on April 16, 2015.
“Meet Leroy, my first dog,” Barthel captioned the post. He is a Yorkshire Terrier mix (perhaps a Morkie, which is half Maltese, half Yorkie), who spends a great deal of time by his mom’s side — when he’s not modeling for his latest Instagram shot, that is. The pup has his very own Instagram page, which has over 25,000 followers.
“He’s like my therapy dog. Being on tour is not easy – you forget about the normal world because you’re in this strange bubble where things can just stress you out, depress you. But when Leroy is in the bubble, everyone’s happy. They can breathe. I say he’s my dog but he’s really everybody’s dog. He allows me to let life in and take a step back. He calms us down, mellows the mood out if someone’s in a bad mood or nervous. You just look at him and [you’re] like, ‘Ah, okay. Let’s go play. I can’t wait to come back and hug you.’ He’s very important. He does his part and you don’t realize it,” Barthel told Billboard in May 2017.
Leroy spends ample time with Barthel, but he also spends time with his dad, Shaun White. Leroy is also pretty famous in his own right and has hung out with some pretty big celebrities including Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell and tennis star, Venus Williams.
5. Lena Zawaideh Accused White of Sexual Harassment
In 2016, White faced some serious sexual misconduct accusations. According to Page Six, Lena Zawaideh, a musician who played drums in White’s band, Bad Things, claimed that White “sent her sexually explicit and graphic images of male genitals, forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos including ones that ‘sexualized fecal matter,’ and made sexual remarks to her.”
“Shaun took some kind of joy in seeing how much he could break me down and mess with me. I don’t know why, but every time he saw that I was uncomfortable with something, he would just keep going just to be like, ‘Can I break her?’ That’s not acceptable for an employee, which I was. Contractually,” Zawaideh told Page Six.
Last May, a settlement was reached in the case. According to USA Today, the details of that settlement were not disclosed.
“White…vigorously contested the suit and in February tried to compel Zawaideh to undergo a mental health examination after she claimed she suffered emotional and mental distress because of what happened. He later withdrew that request, and last week an attorney for Zawaideh filed a notice of unconditional settlement in the case and requested the case be dismissed,” USA Today reported.
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