Olympian Michael Phelps Says His Family Loves One Of The Rock’s Cheat Meals, And It's The Crossover Story I Needed Today

The Rock and Michael Phelps both wearing suits on varying red carpets 2023.
(Image credit: (Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)/(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images))

Dwayne Johnson is known for the work he puts in within his Iron Paradise, but he’s also known for being flexible and doing cheat meals on Sundays (and “fuck its” on other special occasions). He’s also really giving when it comes to sharing exactly what some of his cheat meal favorites are, so I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising to learn another high level athlete may have taken a note from the best when it comes to his own family meals. That athlete? None other than Michael Phelps.

The 28-time Olympic medalist revealed that in his own household, one cheat meal that’s a “huge hit” just so happens to be one of The Rock’s own personal favorites. In a post about coconut banana pancakes doused in what looks to be peanut butter and maple syrup, the swimming champion commented that he and his family also enjoy the sweet breakfast treat. 

The best. Those things are a HUGE hit in the Phelps household!! 💪💪

Phelps is married to Nicole Johnson and memorably went viral during his last Olympics in 2016 after his wife brought their baby to his racing events with noise canceling headphones on. That’s right, that moment was more viral than the swimmer beating Leonidas of Rhodes to a 2000 year+ record. They are now a family of five, however, with three growing boys added to their brood. That’s seemingly a lot of pancakes. 

Personally, I don’t even like pancakes as a general rule (more of a waffle girl), but these look insanely yummy, and it makes me so happy to see two athletes from totally different sports totally on the same page about what a fun food splurge looks like. In fact, it's the internet crossover story I needed today.

Look, The Rock has always loved a good cheat meal, but the breakfast staple in particular seems to be a favorite of his. In the past, he’s even dropped f-bombs over pancakes he’s eaten, they’re that dang good. So, should we be surprised other fans who love a good cheat meat might have jumped on this particular bandwagon? No, no we should not. 

Meanwhile, Phelps is less of a cheat meal sharer on Instagram, but he also is a legend when it comes to eating. There have been rumors in the past that when he was training for swimming records he was eating 12,000 calories a day, which he sort of debunked in his autobiography, Push The Limits. In the book he wrote it wasn’t 12K  calories, writing, “It’s just not true. Maybe eight to ten thousand calories per day.”

That's close to Johnson, who allegedly eats between 6,000-8,000 calories a day to fuel all that muscle. Now, the only question I have is: Are the coconut banana pancakes a favorite of his or do they feed the whole family just like Phelps' breakfast treat? 

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.