Noah Lyles’ Wife Junelle Shares How He Inspired Her to Start Therapy After the Loss of Her Mom (Exclusive)
Noah Lyles’ Wife Junelle Shares How He Inspired Her to Start Therapy After the Loss of Her Mom (Exclusive)
Skyler CarusoSat, August 1, 2026 at 2:15 PM UTC
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Junelle and Noah Lyles.Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty -
Junelle Lyles opens up on PEOPLE’s WAG World series about how her husband, Noah Lyles, and his family encouraged her to start therapy after personal losses
The Olympian, who hails from Jamaica, moved to the U.S. in 2022, finding love and support in Noah’s family during a challenging time
Junelle discovered her passion for running at age eight, using it as a way to pursue opportunities beyond her hometown
Junelle Lyles is prioritizing both her mental and physical health.
The Olympian, 28, opened up on PEOPLE’s WAG World series about how her husband, Noah Lyles, influenced her to start therapy after the loss of her mom in 2021, and her eventual relocation to the United States from Jamaica.
“The whole family is big on therapy,” Junelle tells WAG World host Skyler Caruso of Noah’s brood in the Thursday, July 30 episode released exclusively on the PEOPLE app. “My first year there... I moved in November, and by December I was in family therapy with everybody.”
Junelle Lyles hugs her husband, Noah Lyles, after he won the men’s 100m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.Credit: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty
Junelle was born in Black River, Jamaica, and raised in a “very poor community” alongside seven siblings by a single mother, Sandra Farquharson. She discovered her passion for running at age eight, a natural talent that allowed her to achieve her dreams of competing — and medaling —at the highest level.
“I got the opportunity to travel and represent my country,” she recalls of her 8-year-old self at the start of her track and field career. “I saw that there’s more to this small little community in the valley. I was like, ‘Okay, I can use this as a way out,’ and I just started pursuing it from there.”
“In 2021, when I was training for the Olympics, my mom got diagnosed with cancer and she passed away that year,” Junelle says of the unimaginable hardship that changed her relationship with the sport. “All the time that I could spend with her was on weekends because I had to be commuting for like two-and-a-half hours.”
“I did not drive so I took buses to the hospital,” she shares. “It would be only an hour visit because they don’t give long visits in Jamaica. Then you look at all of that, and you’re like, ‘It’s taking so much.’ And then you get to the big moments and it’s not what you expected,” Junelle says of winning bronze in the 4 x 400-meter relay at the Tokyo Olympics that year.
Junelle Lyles on set of PEOPLE’s “WAG World” series.Credit: Astrid Stawiarz
Junelle then took “a leap of faith” and moved to the United States in 2022, finding love and support in Noah’s family, particularly his mom, Keisha Caine Bishop, a former All-American track and field athlete who competed at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
“Ms. Keisha, Noah’s mom... she invited me into her home and the whole family accepted me,” she says. “It was just so much love.”
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“They are amazing people, I must say, because when I moved to America, I did not know anything about America, really. I was living in Jamaica for all of my life,” Junelle continues. “I was supposed to move to a place that was like 30 minutes away from Noah. I did not drive. I was just taking a leap of faith moving here.”
Junelle, who wed Noah, 29, in April but had known him about a decade prior, was welcomed into their home at the start of their relationship in 2022.
Junelle Lyles in action in the Women’s 400m Semi-Final 1 during the 2024 Paris Olympics.Credit: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty
“It was like two months into the relationship, but me and Noah have been friends way before that. We’ve been friends since 2017, really, really good friends,” she says. “I would say that worked out pretty well.”
Noah, who uses his platform to advocate for mental health, inspired Junelle to start therapy.
“I would consider myself very strong. I’ve had a lot of loss, as I said before. I never went to therapy, so I just kept on being the strong one, especially in my family — and Noah knew that,” she says. “When I came over, I had moments where like, it’d be October, and I’m like, ‘I don’t like October. A bunch of bad things always happen in October.’”
“And he’s like, ‘That’s not a mindset to have. Things come in seasons, life comes in seasons. We need to fix that. We need to get you to start looking at your cup half full instead of half empty’,” Junelle shares. “And that’s how I started going to therapy.”
“I would say it helped a lot,” she continues.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
