- American ice dance hero Evan Bates, 36, left the Olympic crowd in ‘floods of tears’ after dropping to one knee on the ice moments after their individual rhythm dance performance.
- A ‘frozen’ Madison Chock, 33, looked visibly stunned as her partner of 15 years asked for her hand in a ‘breathtaking’ show of romance that eclipsed their second-place score.
- The ‘intimate’ moment has sparked a social media frenzy as fans question the ‘mysterious’ timeline—reminding the world the pair actually MARRIED in a lavish Hawaii ceremony in 2024.
- Insiders claim the ‘shocker’ was a private vow renewal intended to ‘reclaim’ the Olympic stage after a ‘harrowing’ decade of near-misses and heartbreak.
Forget the scores, the medals, and the technical downgrades—the Milan Cortina 2026 Games just witnessed the most scandalous and heartwarming moment in figure skating history.
Moments after the music faded on their ‘pulsating’ Lenny Kravitz rhythm dance, which saw them land in second place behind French rivals, Evan Bates did the unthinkable. As 12,000 fans at the Milano Ice Skating Arena rose to their feet, the 36-year-old veteran didn’t reach for his water bottle—he reached for a shimmering ring.
Dropping to one knee on the very ice where they had just fought for their Olympic lives, Bates looked up at a ‘paralyzed’ Madison Chock and asked: “Can I be your husband for the rest of my life?”
The scene was breathtaking, leaving viewers at home ‘drowning’ in emotion. However, the proposal has left many in the skating world scratching their heads.
THE ‘MYSTERIOUS’ TIMELINE
JUNE 2022: The pair announced their engagement after a romantic trip to Thailand.
JUNE 2024: Chock and Bates tied the knot in a lavish beachside ceremony in Waikiki, Hawaii, surrounded by skating royalty.
FEBRUARY 2026: Bates seemingly proposes again on Olympic ice, turning a silver-medal moment into a global sensation.
While some critics have branded the move a “publicity stunt” to distract from their narrow 0.46-point deficit behind the French, those close to the couple insist the gesture was a soul-searing act of devotion.
“They’ve been through hell and back on Olympic ice,” one insider whispered to DailyMail.com. “From the harrowing fall in PyeongChang to the tainted gold in Beijing, Evan wanted to make this memory about them, not the judges.”
Chock, 33, who looked ‘otherworldly’ in her custom-designed rhythm dance ensemble, was seen nodding fariously through her tears as the crowd erupted into a thunderous standing ovation.
On social media, the confusion was palpable. “Wait, I thought they were already married?” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while another added: “I don’t care if they’re married ten times over, that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
As the “husband-and-wife” duo prepare for Wednesday’s ‘fight to the death’ free dance, the pressure of the competition seems to have vanished. For Bates, the victory isn’t in the hardware—it’s in the woman standing beside him.
Whether it was a vow renewal or a ‘theatrical’ re-dedication, the centre of the Olympic world has been well and truly captured by the “Mom and Dad” of Team USA.
What do you think? Was Evan’s on-ice proposal the ultimate romantic gesture, or was it a ‘confusing’ move for a couple who already said ‘I do’? Let us know in the comments!
