Champion gay skater’s latest win: His boyfriend says yes to marriage
Ice dancer Paul Poirier makes an engagement announcement in a low-key way, another sign of his authenticity as an out athlete. The post Champion gay skater’s latest win: His boyfriend says yes to marriage appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
For Olympian and multimedal ice dancer Paul Poirier, the proposal was low-key but nonetheless special and meaningful.
“We did a thing ???? (he said yes),” Poirier posted on Instagram announcing his engagement to his boyfriend, Kevin, this week.
“It was a very casual proposal at home during our evening routine,” Poirier, 33, told Outsports. “It was really nice to share that quiet moment together, and then to share the news with our families and closest friends. We’re both very excited!”
No date has been announced for the wedding, but it’s a further reflection of Poirier living his life openly and authentically as an out gay athlete. He is a self-described introvert, so a casual proposal at home perfectly fits his personality.
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Poirier and his ice dancing partner, Piper Gilles, have been among the most successful teams in the world, and this year have won gold medals at Canadian Championships and at the Four Continents Championships in Seoul and a silver at the World Championships in Boston. The pair hopes to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy for Canada.
Poirier and Kevin met in the fall of 2020 and have been dating for five years. “In that time he’s really become my favorite person and biggest source of support in all facets of life,” Poirier said of his future husband.
Poirier came out in 2021, a year ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, in part to show out LGBTQ athletes thriving at the highest level.
“[Being a gay athlete] hasn’t been something that I’ve really talked about very much, especially in a public setting,” Poirier said. “I’ve had this attitude that my private life is my private life and my life outside of skating is my life outside of skating. I haven’t necessarily allowed all of those things to [blend] together. I think with the lead-up to the Olympic Games in the next year, I definitely see opportunities to share what we do and who we are to a much wider audience, and that opportunity is not lost on me.
“This Pride Month is a really good opportunity to share a bit more about my story, how my sexuality has made me the person and the athlete that I am today, and also perhaps be a role model for so many young queer athletes who are growing up and not really sure how to navigate that as they go through the world of sport.”
You can follow Paul Poirier on Instagram.
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The post Champion gay skater’s latest win: His boyfriend says yes to marriage appeared first on Outsports.
