No. 17 of 2025: Olympic champion Jade Carey has a girlfriend. The perfect example of a quiet coming out.

U.S. women’s gymnast Jade Carey, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has a girlfriend. Apparently. Almost certainly.

It’s the latest example of what we call a quiet coming out as LGBTQ on social media.

Here are some headlines that were posted in the past three hours:

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Carey started a frenzy in the gymnastics community last night and the media today with an Instagram post showing her and Aimee Sinacola in four loving poses.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jade Carey (@jadecarey)

Carey’s emojis are a heart, a lock (which symbolizes commitment), sparkles and a love letter. She has received 54,000 likes and a lot of comments from people like fellow gymnasts Simone Biles, Stephen Nedoroscik, Suni Lee, Heath Thorpe, Sam Phillips (both Thorpe and Phillips are gay), U.S.A. gymnastics and many others. The heart and LGBTQ rainbow emjois were flowing.

Biles: freaking cuuuuuute❤️
Thorpe: Well this made my day! So happy for you!
Lee: angels ????????????????????????????
Nedoroscik: GO JADE!!!
Emily Quartaro: TENS ACROSS THE BOARD!!!! ????????????
U.S.A. Gymnastics: always applauding your authenticity ????

In her own comment on the post, Sinacola wrote: “Soooooo happy ????™️” In a Instagram story after Carey’s post, Sinacola wrote simply “ILY,” which I take to mean I love you (as opposed to I love yams).

The fascinating thing from our perspective at Outsports is that Carey never uses the words “gay” or “bi” or “lesbian” or “girlfriend” or “LGBTQ,” yet her post and the reactions to it make it clear that she and Sinacola are in a relationship of some sort. People don’t post heart emjois in comments about two people who are just friends. We reached out to Carey for a comment and have yet to get a response.

In addition, Sinacola and Carey have posted numerous photos of themselves, including what appears to be one at a gay bar in Minneapolis at last year’s U.S. Olympic trials, with rainbow flags in the background. One of the photos in the stream says “Duck, Duck, Gay Duck.” Sinacola works as director of creative content for the University of Oregon Ducks.

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A post shared by Aimee Sinacola (@aimee_sinacola)

Sinacola also shared a post by Oregon’s director of volleyball operations, Nellie Schafer, which read: “Representation and visibility are so important. Sport will always be a catalyst for change and inclusion. Takes folks being brave and their most authentic selves in these spaces. Proud of you Jade Carey and beyond happy for you and Aimee Sinacola.”

The quiet coming out on social media is most pronounced during the Olympics, when Outsports scans the accounts of athletes to determine if they meet our criteria for being on the list of out athletes, which we describe thusly:

“While almost all male athletes come out in a public way via the media (because of how few of them there are), many women are out on social media, flying under the media radar. Add in language barriers, and it’s initially easy to overlook an obvious out athlete. If someone has not made a public declaration to the media that they are LGBTQ, they can still be included on this list if they are openly living their life as an out person on social media, particularly if they have made clear they are in a relationship.”

Social media has made it easier for many LGBTQ people to come out, or at least test the waters, without having to make a more public proclamation via the media. Whatever their relationship, Carey and Sinacola look happy together and that’s all that matters.

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The post No. 17 of 2025: Olympic champion Jade Carey has a girlfriend. The perfect example of a quiet coming out. appeared first on Outsports.