Olympians get engaged at Milan Cortina Games 4 years after falling in love at 2022 Beijing Games

Hilary Knight and Brittany Bowe said the "Olympics brought us together."

February 18, 2026, 12:28 PM

Valentine's Day may be over, but love is still in the air for two Team USA Olympians.

Women's ice hockey forward Hilary Knight, 36, and speedskater Brittany Bowe, 37, announced their engagement in an Instagram post Wednesday morning.

PHOTO: Hockey player Hilary Knight is shown at Sunset Glenoaks Studios, on May 20, 2025, in Sun Valley, Calif. | Brittany Bowe is shown ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Oct. 9, 2025, in New York .
Hockey player Hilary Knight of the United States poses for a photo during a Team USA Photo Shoot at Sunset Glenoaks Studios, on May 20, 2025, in Sun Valley, Calif. | Brittany Bowe poses for a portrait during the Team USA Media Summit ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Oct. 9, 2025, in New York .
Harry How/Getty Images, FILE | Mike Coppola/Getty Images, FILE

"Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever," Knight and Bowe wrote alongside a video showing Knight getting down on one knee and presenting a red box and engagement ring to Bowe.

Knight and Bowe are in Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. Knight is captain of the U.S. women's hockey team and gearing up for Thursday's gold medal matchup against Canada.

PHOTO: Hilary Knight of Team United States skates on day one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 7, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
Hilary Knight of Team United States skates in the first period during the Women's Preliminary Round Group A match between Finland and United States on day one of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 7, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Bowe, a long track speed skater and a four-time Olympian, will compete next on Feb. 20 in the women's speedskating 1,500-meter race.

Brittany Bowe of Team United States competes during the quarterfinals of the Speed Skating Women's Team Pursuit on day eight of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Feb. 14, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
Elsa/Getty Images

The longtime couple first met at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, according to The Associated Press, and fell in love at the 2022 Beijing Games, as Bowe told Team USA last year.

"She asked if I wanted to go on a walk," Bowe recalled of her interaction with Knight at the 2022 Beijing Games. "That became our routine. We'd walk the [Olympic] Village after dinner and just talk. It was cool living in a bubble and not having outside distractions."

Knight and Bowe aren't the first couple to get engaged at the Olympics this month.

Skier Breezy Johnson said yes to boyfriend Connor Watkins' proposal at the super-G finish line last week. Spanish figure skater Olivia Smart also got engaged to her former rival, British American ice dancer Jean-Luc Baker, in Milan, and Ukrainian freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar got engaged to her boyfriend Bohdan Fashtryha after qualifying for the women's big air final at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy.

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