Gymnast Paul Juda Says a 'Stern' Talk from His Girlfriend Led to His Olympic Medal: ‘I Owe It All to Her’ (Exclusive)

The U.S. gymnast exclusively shares with PEOPLE the tough conversation his girlfriend had with him that inspired him to chase his Olympic dreams

Paul Juda says his Olympic medal in men's team gymnastics wouldn't have been possible without his girlfriend, Reyna Guggino.

The 23-year-old bronze medalist exclusively tells PEOPLE that it was a tough conversation from Guggino, a fellow gymnast at the University of Michigan, that motivated him to go for his Olympic dreams.

Juda shares that up until a month before the Olympic trials, he had "started to process coming to terms with not making the team" and was "showing her how I was starting to plan things after my gymnastics career would be done."

"I was telling her we could do all these fun things and move on with our lives, and she really had a stern talking-to with me," he shares.

Juda says Guggino told him, "I don't think you're going to like to hear this, but I came to one of your practices and you just kind of looked like you were giving up, and I know that's not you."

Related: Paul Juda Cries Happy Tears After Securing Spot on Team USA for 2024 Paris Olympics: 'My Heart Was Just Pounding'

Those words were hard for Juda to hear at the time, especially because he assumed his girlfriend "would be super happy to be hearing their boyfriend talk about their future," but ultimately, Guggino wanted him to pursue his Olympic dreams.

"She said, 'I want you to chase your dream, you only have one chance to chase it.' "

Juda admits he was "definitely pretty upset with her in the moment," but now that he's an Olympic medalist and a member of the first U.S. men's gymnastics team to medal in 16 years, the Illinois native says, "I owe it all to her."

"If she didn't have that stern talking-to with me, I probably would've spiraled out and maybe not even made a real push for it," Juda tells PEOPLE.

"So to have that kind of love, to have that kind of support and to have that kind of person next to you that also understands the ins and outs of gymnastics, it's a dream come true. Every night's great, every hard day is easy with her. And when I come home, I've got nothing but a best friend. She's the love my life."

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Juda vividly remembers the first time he saw Guggino during her visit to the University of Michigan during his freshman year. "She was with her recruiting host and she was wearing this really cute outfit in Timberland boots, a beanie, jeans and a Michigan crew neck, and I was like, 'I'm going to marry that girl for sure.' "

"I said to myself, that's the girl I'm going to marry one day. I don't know when, but I'm going to marry that girl for sure."

Related: Fred Richard and Paul Juda Celebrate Olympic Experience Despite All-Around Results: 'A Perfect Story Is Kind of Boring'

And when Juda took home the bronze in Paris, he says Guggino and her family were there to celebrate. "She made so many different surprises for me that I had no idea about," he adds.

"She made a kind of NFL denim jacket-type thing with Juda written all over it. She printed out my faces and gave it to my family. She got tattoos, she had a shirt with that was knitted with Juda on there, so you can't ask for more of a support system than that."

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