'Best decision': Olympic ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates were partners on the ice before love blossomed

When ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates took to the ice this week, it marked their first Winter Olympics since becoming husband and wife.

But while they have only been married a little over a year, their love story has its beginnings more than two decades ago at an ice rink in the US state of Michigan.

But it would be many years, and even a false start, before love blossomed. Fifteen years after they started competing together, and 10 after finding love, Chock recently looked back on their early beginnings in an emotional post on Instagram.

Watch the video above.

Early lives

Madison Chock was born in California on July 2, 1992.

At five, her parents took her ice-skating after she expressed interest in the sport from watching it on TV.

After a coach suggested she try ice dancing and despite having no interest, she gave it a go.

Soon after, coaches told her parents she would receive the best training at either Texas or Michigan, so they decided to relocate to the latter when she was 12.

It was at the Novi Ice Arena that she first crossed paths with Evan Bates.

Bates, who is three years older than Chock, was born in Michigan on February 23, 1989, and started skating at four.

As a singles skater, he rose through the US testing ranks, before taking up ice dancing.

First date

Bates and Chock danced with other partners but trained at the same ice rink and were very much in each other's orbits, even going on a first date in 2008.

Chock told the US Today show three years ago they went on their first date on her 16th birthday.

"Evan took me out to dinner on my 16th birthday," she said, before Bates recalled she was wearing a black dress which she paired with pink stilettos.

However, the teenage romance fizzled out after just a couple more dates.

Partners on the ice

It wasn't until 2011 that the two became ice dance partners.

Within a year, they had won their first trophy and in 2013, won silver at the 2013 US Championships.

They have gone on to win multiple national and world championships, and two Olympic gold medals.

They made their Winter Olympics debut in 2014, and competed in the 2018 Games.

But it wasn't until 2022, that they won their first Olympic gold medal in the team event.

They repeated the success this week at Milano Cortina 2026 by winning a second gold medal in the team event at Milano Cortina 2026.

Chock and Bates then went on to win Silver in the individual ice dance, their first-ever individual Olympic medal.

Love blossoms

It would be five years after they became partners on the ice before love finally blossomed between the pair.

Bates told the US Today show, "It took like five years before I really came forward and expressed my feelings and wanted to be more than skating partners.

Meanwhile, Chock said that on hearing Bates come clean she thought, "Oh, huh, that's so interesting. I feel the same way about you. Where did that come from? It always had to be there."

Bates said when they eventually did get together, "some of our friends around us were like, 'Well, duh!'"

Both said neither could have imagined when they first met that they would end up together, both professionally and personally.

"It's crazy," Chock said. "It's really fun to look back and think about how much you experience together and how our lives led us to each other..."

Engagement and wedding

Bates proposed to Chock while on holiday in Phuket, Thailand, in June 2022.

Exactly two years later, they married during a romantic ceremony in Hawaii, where Chock's parents were from.

Just last month, Bates told People that marriage had shifted their perspective ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

"Skating was always the main focus, but as we've gotten older, I think the relationship has become the main focus," he said.

"Skating is kind of like our means of strengthening ourselves and our relationship and going through all the experiences of life together, and so the appreciation for the partnership has grown."

Life off the ice

Chock and Bates live together in Montreal, Canada, where they reportedly train up to six hours a day.

When they are not skating, Chock, now 33, and Bates, 36, spend time on other pursuits, such as music and art.

Chock is an artist who designs the prints for all of their costumes while Bates likes to relax by playing the guitar.

They also dote on their two toy poodles, Henry and Stella.

Plane crash tragedy

Chock and Bates were left reeling after 28 members of the US figure skating community were killed in a plane crash when the American Airlines jet they were travelling in and a military helicopter collided mid-air in Washington DC on January 29, 2025.

Just last month, Bates told E! News, "The figure skating world is so small. Everybody really knows everybody, and it was so devastating what happened."

He said while "moving forward from there will always be challenging", the Winter Olympics was a chance to honour those lives lost.

"Continuing to not take anything for granted would be the best way to pay homage to those victims," he said.

'Best decision'

On the eve of their fourth Winter Olympics, Chock took to Instagram recently to share a video with her followers.

It included a carousel of photos and videos of the pair, starting with a scene from their wedding day, before transitioning to throwback videos of a young Chock and Bates on the ice.

"In 2011, a boy will ask you to be his dance partner," she wrote across the screen.

"It's very important that you say yes."

The videos then moved to them competing together and winning medal plays, before ending with scenes from their wedding.

She uploaded the post with the comment, "Best decision of our lives," and an infinity emoji, to the delight of fans.

"This is the next ice skating romance book I need please," wrote one.

"What in the romance book," wrote another.

"Beautiful…feels like a @hallmark movie," said another.

Even wedding dress designer Vera Wang weighed in, writing, "I LOVE THIS."

Their story proves love can blossom in even the coldest environment.

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