Meryl Davis and Charlie White, a US figure skating pair, won a gold medal at the Sochi Olympics, sparking rumors that they are dating or married.
But the truth is that like most figure skating pairs, the two are not romantically involved.
They have been together for 17 years, but only on the ice.
As an ice dancer, we take our on-ice relationships so seriously, and that’s really the way we like to go about it,” White explained to Yahoo.
Davis does not currently have a boyfriend but White does have a girlfriend, former figure skater Tanith Belbin, who won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics with another partner.
“[Davis and I] are just presenting ourselves as a team, and all the rest of that [with Belbin] can wait for later,” White elaborated.
(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
White was asked whether it is odd to portray being in love with someone who is not his romantic partner.
“It’s just sort of the way we all fall in,” he said. “Because we’ve been doing it for so long it just seems so natural. Meryl and I have been skating together for 16 years. We’ve known each other for our whole lives. It just feels really natural that that’s how we sort of present ourselves to the world that cares about us as skaters.”
The frequent questions about them being a couple are actually a good thing, White said.
Davis and White embrace while standing on the podium during their medals ceremony at the 2014 Winter Olympics on February 18. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Davis and White embrace after completing their routine that won them the gold medal. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
“Obviously we get a lot of questions about whether the two of us are dating, and that’s a good thing, because that means we’re doing our job out on the ice. Meryl and I are oftentimes trying to portray people who are in love. We’ve always been great friends, and we have a special relationship, but we’ve never been romantically involved.”
Davis alluded to how she and White are so close despite not being romantically involved in an interview with Team USA.
“I guess the funny thing is, especially at this point, we know each other so well that it’s scary most of the time,” said Davis. “We have spent the majority of the last 16 years together and we’ll say the same thing at the same time or finish each other’s thoughts. I think people would be shocked to learn exactly how well we know each other and how creepy it can be.”
