During the Team Figure Skating Event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates attracted a lot of attention for their chemistry and dramatic performance in the rink. On Friday, the reigning American champions fell to fourth during the Rhythm Ice Dance competition after Chock slipped when her blade caught on ice, though she managed to stay upright.
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Fans are fascinated by the real life love story between Chock and Bates who are a couple off the ice as well. In recent interviews, they’ve been discussing their romantic story, which gives their performances such frisson.
Their first date happened when they were in their teens, though it didn’t become a real relationship until much later after they’d spent some time as skating partners. That’s when they decided to try things again.
“Evan took me out to dinner for my 16th birthday and we went to Bahama Breeze,” said Chock. “It was really fun and he got me a hoodie, a zip-up hoodie from PINK, and it had turquoise letters. It was a very long time ago, but that was our first official date.”
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They already shared a friendship which Chock added was the “base was what sort of led to the romance.”
For Bates, what makes the relationship work is that “humor is at the core” of their partnership.
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The couple met while they were both figure skating in Michigan. They have been skating together for 8 years, and have won three gold medals and six silver medals at the U.S. National Championships and won the bronze medal in 2018. They also have two gold medals from the Four Continents Championships and three silver medals from the Grand Prix Final.
“I’ve always had great chemistry with [Bates],” Chock told NBC. “We’ve always gotten along so well. Skating together is something that we love doing, and we love doing it together. Now, we’re together on and off the ice and it makes it even more powerful. It feels completely genuine and real. It makes training so much more fun and it brings us closer together every day. We’re working together, working towards the same things. When you’re doing that with someone that you love, it really is so much more meaningful.”
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