From heated rivals to life-long partners!
Figure skater Olivia Smart is leaving the 2026 Winter Olympics a fiancée after her former rival, Jean-Luc Baker, whom she competed against in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, popped the question on the streets of Milan on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Smart, 28, and her partner Tim Dieck didn’t medal in ice dance on Feb. 11, coming in ninth, but the British-Spanish figure skater has a lot to be happy about after Baker, 32, proposed on Valentine’s Day, which also marks the anniversary of day he confessed his love for her while they were competing in Beijing.
Olivia Smart and Jean-Luc Baker’s engagement on Feb. 14, 2026 in Milan.Joosep Martinson/Getty
“It’s always been you,” the couple captioned their post announcing the happy news.
American figure skating stars congratulated the couple in the comments, with Evan Bates writing, “Congrats!! I love you guys,” and Ellie Kam adding, “😭😭 that was so precious. Congratulations 🎉🥹.”
Olivia Smart and Jean-Luc Baker on Feb. 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy.Joosep Martinson/Getty
Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher commented too, asking, “I’m sorry?!?!? Did this happen before or after I saw you?!?” to which Smart told Maher the proposal happened “literally a couple hours after.”
When Smart and Baker competed against each other in the 2022 Beijing Games, the Spanish athlete finished eighth, while Baker, who won bronze in the team event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, finished in eleventh place.
Baker and Smart were friends for years and she was in a relationship with someone else before he confessed his feelings for her. “We’ve been best friends at this point for like 11 or 12 years,” Baker said in a video shared by the Olympics.
“I remember, like, this feeling in my gut of not being comfortable enough to be at her wedding as a spectator…and I honestly could not live my life not knowing that she knew how I felt about her,” he said.
After they both competed in the free dance in Beijing, Baker realized it was his “time to say something.”
Baker has not officially announced his retirement from the sport, but a series of injuries have prevented him from competing since the 2022 Games.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
News
Justin Bieber Shares Intimate Behind-the-Scenes Photos with Hailey Bieber from Coachella Weekend 2
Justin Bieber is giving fans a more intimate look at his headlining Coachella 2026 performance. In new photos shared on Instagram on Tuesday, April 21, the “Daisies” singer, 32, provided a glimpse of some of the special moments that made his set a hit, as well as the people who helped. One captionless carousel began with a photo […]
FROM DREAM TRIP TO MEDICAL EMERGENCY Sarah Danh battles a life-threatening illness after getting sick on her honeymoon in Japan
A Texas nurse is fighting for her life in the hospital, battling a life-threatening illness after falling sick just two days into her honeymoon in Japan. Sarah Danh, 27, landed in San Antonio Tuesday evening following a grueling 20-hour flight from the Asian country, where she was in hospital with acute liver failure, according to People. […]
FROM GAME DESIGNER TO REAL-LIFE TRAGEDY Call of Duty architect dies in devastating Ferrari crash — footage reveals key moments
The cause of death has been released for one of the main architects behind the ‘Call of Duty’ blockbuster video game franchise. Vincent Zampella, 55, died from burns and smoke inhalation after being trapped inside the fiery wreck of his Ferrari in December, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner announced Monday. The office also listed blunt trauma as a significant […]
HER FINAL QUESTION STILL ECHOES… Athena Strand asked the driver a simple question — the response left many unable to sit still
A jury must decide whether Tanner Horner deserves to die for his crimes. Video and audio evidence of the violent acts could be the deciding factor. In November 2022, Horner told police he struck Athena with his delivery van while backing up. He kidnapped and strangled, allegedly out of fear that she would tell her […]
THE DETAILS THAT HAUNT EVERYONE Inside Athena Strand’s life before she was taken—what investigators uncovered is heartbreaking
A Texas family was shattered when they learned that their 7-year-old daughter, Athena Strand, had been kidnapped and killed. Athena was reported missing by her stepmother, Elizabeth Ashley Strand, on Nov. 30, 2022. Two days later, she was found dead near a river about nine miles from her home. According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by […]
MYSTERY IN BIG SUR… Joanna Shields found dead in a remote wilderness — shocking details begin to emerge
Markings on the neck of a woman found naked and dead in the wilderness near Big Sur were caused by insect bites, not strangulation, cops have revealed. Joanna Shields’ body was discovered in a pool of water on Pine Ridge Trail near Sykes Hot Springs on April 9. The 37-year-old reportedly had a gash on her head and the […]
End of content
No more pages to load
