Simone Biles is letting fans in on what life looks like when the red carpet is nowhere in sight. Just days after revealing that she spent $23,000 on a glam team for a high profile appearance, the 28-time Olympic medalist posted a TikTok on Tuesday, May 5, giving followers an unfiltered look at her everyday morning routine and it couldn’t be further from the glamour of her recent outing.
After revealing she dropped $23,000 on a glam team for a red carpet appearance, the Olympic champion gave fans a look at what a regular morning actually looks like for her
The video, captioned with a nod to her earlier spending revelation, showed Biles going through the kind of morning most people recognize: applying her skincare, feeding and caring for her dogs, eating breakfast and folding laundry. No stylist. No glam team. No five figure bill at the end of it.
The post landed with fans immediately, many of whom appreciated the humor and relatability behind it. Comments poured in celebrating the contrast between her two very different realities as a world-famous athlete who still does her own laundry.
The $23,000 that started it all
The backstory behind Biles lighthearted morning video traces back to a candid TikTok she posted on April 27, in which she broke down the eyewatering cost of getting ready for a major red carpet event. The bill included a stylist fee plus a separate hair and makeup team, totaling $23,000 a number that left even Biles herself rattled.
In that earlier video, she said she had been unsettled ever since the payment went through, questioning whether these kinds of costs were now standard in the industry and half joking that she might retire from public appearances altogether if this was the new normal. She expressed genuine disbelief that going out could cost that much, even for someone at her level.
The reaction from fans was equally disbelieving. Comments ranged from jaw dropping shock to playful jokes about a so called Simone Biles service tax, many of which Biles liked and engaged with directly.
When fans suggested she just dress herself
One corner of the comment section took a different angle, with some fans suggesting that Biles didn’t need a stylist at all and could easily put together a look on her own. Biles pushed back on the idea warmly but firmly, explaining that while she would personally love to show up in something more casual and affordable, public scrutiny made that nearly impossible.
She referenced several accessible fashion brands she enjoys and acknowledged that her own taste in clothing would likely not satisfy the internet’s expectations of her. It was a candid moment that laid bare one of the more complicated realities of being a celebrity athlete the pressure to look a certain way at every public appearance, regardless of the personal cost.
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The event behind the bill
Biles did not name the specific event she spent the $23,000 preparing for, but her public schedule offers a strong clue. On April 20, she attended the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards at Cibeles Palace in Madrid, arriving in a feathered minidress by designer Cong Tri. The look was widely photographed and praised, though apparently came at a price that still has Biles shaking her head weeks later.
The Laureus Awards honor the world’s top athletes across a range of sports, and Biles has been a fixture at high profile events like it throughout her career. Still, even for someone who has stood on the Olympic podium more times than almost anyone in history, a five figure morning-of beauty budget apparently takes some getting used to.
For now, it seems Biles is perfectly happy trading in the glam team for skincare, her dogs and a load of laundry.
