“If anyone is strong enough to pull through this, it’s you,” Weir wrote in one of the messages Lipinski said the fellow Olympic figure skater sent her, adding that her best friend’s words “always give me strength.”
After being evacuated from her home and witnessing her neighborhood being destroyed amid the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, Tara Lipinski is opening up about the support she’s received from her best friend and fellow Olympic figure skater, Johnny Weir.
On Wednesday, the Olympic gold medalist, 42, posted screenshots on her Instagram Stories that featured text messages she said were sent by Weir, 40, who shared moving words of love and support.
“Again the love and checking have been overwhelming,” Lipinski wrote. “To all of you, your words mean so much. Johnny’s words always give me strength and also to my other core people, you know who you are, the constant up all night simultaneously tracking all alerts with me, the calls where I could lay down my fears. Thank you.”
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As shown in the screenshots, in one text, Weir wrote, “Breathe and cry and let everything out so you can be the strong one for your family like you always are.”
“I will,” Lipinski replied, to which Weir responded, per the screenshot, “I am here for you if you need me. Always.”
In another message, Weir seemingly wrote to Lipinski the next morning, “I can’t stop thinking about you guys. I love you very very much and whatever I can do to help, just say the word.”
According to the screenshots, Lipinski told her friend how much she appreciated his kind words, writing, “I just keep rereading your text that I have to be strong but I’m hurting so deeply.”
Weir then appeared to write an inspiring text message in reply to Lipinski, reminding her of her strength and what she’s overcome. The future skater won her first gold medal at only 15, and welcomed her daughter, Georgie, whom she shares with her husband Todd Kapostasy, after battling fertility struggles and endometriosis.
“I know you are [hurting],” Weir wrote, per the screenshots. “But if anyone is strong enough to pull through this, it’s you. They need you to be the strong one, as much as that sucks.”
“You are the one who keeps your nose down and does the work, no matter what you’re personally going through, you’ve had Mama power since you were little and now is the time to use it. Cry when you need to but take big breaths knowing there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and there will be an end,” he seemingly continued.
Weir then added, “Rely on that strength and bravery that has gotten you through so much.”
Alongside the screenshot, Lipinski wrote, “Check on your friends during these times. Your words could make such a difference.”
“Truly I will always remember these texts,” she added. “@johnnygweir I love you forever.”
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As of Thursday morning, per CNN, the five wildfires fires — the Palisades fire, the Eaton fire, Hurst fire, the Lidia fire, and the Sunset fire — have led to the evacuation of over 100,000 residents, as hundreds of thousands are without power. It’s been reported that at least five people have been killed, and nearly 2,000 structures have been destroyed.
On Wednesday, Lipinski shared a post to her Instagram that featured photos of the horrific devastation in the Pacific Palisades due to the wildfire, with the first image showing heartbreaking aerial footage of a neighborhood that had been burned down.
“This is our exact neighborhood, our exact street. This is unfathomable,” Lipinski began in her lengthy caption. “The most important update is that Todd, Georgie, Sully and I are safe. It’s the only thing I have been saying on repeat to myself – that I am so grateful for them and our safety. But the last 24 hours have been horrific for my family, my neighbors, the firefighters, first responders and for everyone in this community.”
“The support within this community and from our neighbors is something like I’ve never experienced,” she continued. “We are family. Which embodies the essence of the Palisades to begin with. My heart breaks, EVERYTHING is burnt to the ground, how is this real?”
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Lipinski added that she and her family learned that there home “seems to be standing at the moment.”
“My heart feels for every house that is burning, for every place that is ashes. The Palisades are unrecognizable, a place that is so special to so many of us,” she wrote, while asking her followers to “please continue to pray for everyone around Los Angeles as these fires continue.”
“And I am beyond grateful for all the firefighters and first responders putting their life at risk to help us,” Lipinski continued, before ending her post by expressing her gratitude toward those who have reached out.
“Lastly- I have never received so many messages of love, support or offers of refuge. Your heartfelt messages have kept me going. I have read them over and over again,” she said. “The way you stayed up late trying to find updates, the tears, the words that reminded me of your love for me and reminders that I am strong enough to get through hard things. Thank you. I’m beyond lucky to have the people in my life that I do. Even in this destruction there is so much to be grateful for.”
