Team USA’s Hilary Knight and Brittany Bowe’s love story began at the Olympics—so it’s no surprise it was also the location of their engagement four years later. While the medal-winning speed skater and hockey player would run into each other at various Team USA events over the years, they didn’t begin their courtship until the 2022 Beijing Olympics—under major Covid-19 regulations. Their first date was a masked, socially distanced walk around the Olympic Village, and dinners were enjoyed together while separated by plexiglass. “We were kind of just living in this bubble in Beijing,” Brittany Bowe tells Vogue ahead of Hilary’s gold-medal hockey game. “It almost felt like we were in a reality TV show. We didn’t have family, we didn’t have friends, we didn’t have fans, so there were really no outside distractions. We really just talked a lot and got to know one another on a deep level.”
From that first moment of connection, the two professional athletes always made sure to carve out time together, despite living in different states and Hilary’s busy NHL schedule. “We just found ourselves any chance we got to make a trip to see one another,” Brittany recalls. “We were still living two different lives, but we just enjoyed each other’s company and really, really gravitated to one another.”
The speed skater notes that a romance between two professional athletes has its ebbs and flows—yet ultimately comes with a unique connection. “We are both tunnel visioned at times, but we always come back together and realize we are the way we are because we’re striving for greatness,” says Brittany. “In that way, it makes it a lot easier because we do understand one another.”
Two years after they first became a couple, the Olympians decided to settle down and buy a home together in Salt Lake City, Utah. “That was our first big move,” says the speed skater. “We just continue to want to be together and show up for each other every day. I know our lives are very chaotic at times with the Olympic cycle, the professional women’s hockey league, and my World Cup circuits; all the travel and pressure that comes with those things. But over the past four years, we’ve been that constant for each other. It’s been really special.”
Brittany admits that she had not envisioned what engagement ring or wedding she would want when she was young. “Maybe that’s part of being in the queer community. Growing up, you really didn’t see that or dream about those things for yourself,” she says. But once the couple began discussing the idea of engagement, she was adamant that Hilary would be the one to propose to her first. “I definitely put that out there from the beginning of those conversations,” she says. While Brittany didn’t give too much direction for the kind of ring she wanted, the athlete advised her partner that she would prefer something minimal, as she rarely wears jewelry.
Ahead of the 2026 Milan Olympic Games, Hilary picked out a thin band with inlaid diamonds for the proposal. Brittany wasn’t expecting Hilary to pop the question on this monumental trip, but did happen to make a joke about it two days before the engagement. “I think she was just holding my hand and I was like, ‘That finger is looking pretty naked these days’—literally not having any idea,” she shares.
Having both sides of their family with them for the games has been extremely special for the couple—but it did almost ruin the surprise. The morning of February 18, Hilary and Brittany were heading out for coffee together in the Olympic village. “My mom texted me good morning and told me that my sister and her boyfriend were going into Milan to have breakfast,” says Brittany. The speed skater immediately thought of inviting them to join their coffee date. “I look at her location, and she’s five minutes away from the village,” she shares. “So Hilary’s like, ‘Oh, dang it. I asked Brooke if she wanted to come have coffee with us last night to surprise you.’” Hilary had actually been orchestrating the proposal with her sister for days. Luckily, Brittany didn’t think anything of it. “I’m like, ‘Awesome, that was so kind of you. You know I love when I get some time with my sister.’”