Lindsey Vonn Is Learning to Love Herself Before She Loves Someone Else: I'm 'Happy'

During an interview about her new memoir, Lindsey Vonn tells PEOPLE that she's "looking forward to a positive and healthy relationship"

Lindsey Vonn. Photo: Winnie Au

Lindsey Vonn is enjoying getting to know herself better.

While speaking to PEOPLE about her new memoir, Rise, out Jan. 11, Vonn gets candid about her past relationships, and how they've shaped what she wants in a romance.

Vonn tells PEOPLE in this week's print issue that she's "looking forward to a positive and healthy relationship."

In Rise, Vonn writes that in her past partnerships, "I didn't like who I became." She explains, "I had a tendency to recede, conforming to my partner's needs and preferences in an attempt to please them ... I wanted someone to love me, to make up for the ways I didn't yet love myself."

Vonn was married to Olympic skier Thomas Vonn for four years, then later dated Tiger Woods for three years before splitting in 2015. She split from fiancée P.K. Subban in December 2020 after three years together.

To learn more about Lindsey Vonn's new memoir, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE.

The former downhill skier — who has 82 World Cup wins, three Olympic medals and 20 World Cup titles to her name — says she's now found joy in spending time with herself.

"I really enjoy it now," Vonn, 37, says. "It's nice to be comfortable enough with life and yourself to be alone and happy with it. I feel lucky."

In Rise, Vonn gets candid about her journey with her mental health. "I've been dealing with it since I was 18," she says of depression.

Besides taking antidepressants, Vonn has found other habits that help her handle even the worst days. She says she's doing everything she can "to make sure I'm maintaining good mental health by doing all those things that help me stay positive like journaling, being with friends and working out."

In general, Vonn says she thinks athletes are often viewed as "superheros but we're human like everybody else."

Updated by

Lindsay Kimble

Lindsay Kimble

Lindsay Kimble is a Senior Digital News Editor and the Sports Editor for PEOPLE Digital. She's worked at PEOPLE for over seven years as a writer, reporter and editor across our Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams, covering everything from the Super Bowl to the Met Gala. She's been nominated for the ASME NEXT Awards for Journalists Under 30, and previously wrote for Us Weekly while on staff at Wenner Media.

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