Adam Rippon will soon be skating his way to matrimony.
The Olympic medalist revealed Wednesday on his social media platforms that he and longtime boyfriend Jussi-Pekka Kajaala have gotten engaged. Though he didn’t mention specifics of the proposal, he said it took place in December amid a two-month visit with Kajaala in Finland.
“JP and I didn’t get to see each other for almost all of 2020 because of the pandemic,” Rippon, 31, wrote. “When there was finally a chance for me to go and see him in Finland, I jumped at it.”
The pair spent most of their time focused on personal projects. Rippon is currently developing an NBC comedy series about figure skating, while Kajaala is building a cottage.
“So, in between all that and [bingeing] the entire 4 seasons of ‘The Crown,’ we bought ourselves some rings and said that magic word.. ‘duh!’” quipped Rippon, who lives in Los Angeles.
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Rippon rose to global prominence in 2018 when he became one of the first two openly gay men to compete for the U.S. at the Winter Olympics, the other of whom was freeskier Gus Kenworthy.
He and Kajaala began dating in April of that year after meeting on Tinder.
Though Rippon retired from competitive skating in November 2018, he’s kept active with LGBTQ advocacy work and a number of acting projects, including a guest stint on NBC’s “Will & Grace” reboot.
Speaking to “Good Morning America” on Thursday after news of his engagement broke, Rippon said the couple had not yet set a date for their wedding, but anticipated it would be a low-key affair.
“I think what we are just going to do is wear some cool clothes, go to the courthouse, get married, come home and maybe go to Houston Steakhouse after and that will be that,” he explained.
Looking ahead, both Rippon and Kajaala are hopeful their relationship will encourage young LGBTQ people to live as their authentic selves.
“It was with JP the first time I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I know the feeling I can marry somebody,’” Rippon told GMA. “For me growing up, I didn’t see a lot of LGBTQ+ relationships, and now I’m seeing so many more, and I think it’s awesome that people are sharing their relationships, and that’s why we wanted to share ours, too.”
Congrats, gents!
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