It’s Valentine’s Day so perhaps it should come as no surprise that a real-life figure skating couple coasted onto the 2018 Winter Olympics rink to turn it into their own little love fest.
After helping the U.S. team secure bronze, married partners in life and ice Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim delivered a spotty short program that earned them a 65.55 score in Wednesday’s Olympic pairs competition, enough to get them to the final.
But there’s nothing the internet loves more than love, whether it’s fan fiction or the real deal. After all, why watch the Olympics for the triumph of the human spirit, when you can just tune in for the romance factor? And boy did Alexa and Chris deliver. They’re the first married couple to compete for the U.S. in pairs skating at the games since 1988, and they even sealed their performance with a kiss.
There was that. But there was also the fact that they competed on Wednesday, which is Valentine’s Day in Gangneung, South Korea, and Chris, 30, came prepared.
Chris gave Alexa, 26, a handmade heart-shaped crimson Valentine that read “will you be mine.”
There’s more. Before that, they treated everyone to a selfie of their kiss on the ice. Seriously, these two.
“We’ll get there someday,” Alexa told reporters about their skate. “This journey is really between Chris and I. it’s not about our score and it’s not about the other teams being better than us. It’s deeper than that. It’s our joy and love for skating.”
Joy and love indeed.
The U.S. pairs team of husband and wife Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim share a Valentine's Day kiss at the end of their short program at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/IZ7Cm7dkH0
— Thomas O'Toole (@ByThomasOToole) February 14, 2018
watching all the skating late bc it's on in the middle of the night here but Alexa and Chris are the cutest couple ???????????????? actual goals though (and they're AMAZING skaters too)
— miriam ? (@miriamboase) February 14, 2018
It was wonderful Chris. Chocolate is overrated. The handmade heart showed you put thought behind the gift ????
— Hillary Wheeler (@WheelerHillary) February 14, 2018
#PyeongChang2018 #ValentinesDay
— WomenSports (@WomenSports_fr) February 14, 2018
Pour la #SaintValentin2018, le couple marié Alexa & Chris Knierim du @TeamUSA a pris la 14e place du programme court en patinage artistique.
???????? #JeuxOlympiques #JO2018 #WomenSports pic.twitter.com/iUj6G5RZOd
This is how Alexa and Chris Knierim sealed their short program at the #WinterOlympics https://t.co/P5IAqBVpPM pic.twitter.com/mcuNExb8dw
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) February 14, 2018