New data has shown that one in six children that died by suicide in England between April 2019 and March 2025 were part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Out of the 647 children that died by suicide during that time period, 107 were LGBTQ+ and 46 were transgender.
The figures were obtained by QueerAF via a Freedom of Information request to the National Child Mortality Database.
Speaking to QueerAF on 31 January, preventable deaths campaigner Lucy Brisbane said: “Every preventable death of a child is unacceptable.
“To examine how to protect all children from suicides, including trans children, we need to understand the factors that are contributing to deaths and take action to address them.
“For trans children in particular, this requires us to take the politics out of policymaking.”
Readers affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans free on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
A Filipino man accused of killing multiple LGBTQ+ people has been found dead while in custody, police say.
Authorities said the 22-year-old murder suspect, whom police referred to as “Roy”, was found unconscious in the toilets of the Lobo Municipal Police Station in Lobo, Batangas, on Sunday night (1 February).
Police executive master sergeant Jenny Atienza confirmed that the individual, accused of murdering 34-year-old make-up artist Aljohn Abag, was found by the station’s duty jailer after his partner became concerned that he had been in the toilets for several hours.
Officers rushed him to the Lobo District Hospital, where he was declared dead, sergeant Atienza told local news outlets.
Abag’s body was found along the seashore of Malabrigo Beach on 26 January. Investigators say he was fatally struck on the head with a large, sharp object, possibly a stone.
Roy was arrested and charged four days later after he was spotted driving the victim’s motorcycle in Quezon – a province in the Philippines over 107 miles (172 km) from the location of the killing.
Investigators reported that CCTV footage showed Roy and Abag together near Malabrigo Beach on the night of the killing. Roy was also found in possession of several of the victim’s personal belongings.
He faced charges including robbery with homicide and qualified carjacking, according to the Manila Bulletin.
Local outlet Inquirer reports that the suspect was also being investigated for possible involvement in numerous other murder cases, some of which included LGBTQ+ victims.
Two Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras members have accused the organisation of silencing them for supporting trans rights.
SGLMG directors, Luna Choo and Damien Nguyen, claimed its Board of Directors “completely stripped” the pair of their administrative accounts after they criticised its decision to reject a motion on trans rights.
The Pride organisation faced widespread criticism after announcing it would not uphold a set of resolutions proposed in November 2025 by members of the public during its annual general meeting.
One of the resolutions rejected by the Board of Directors called for the main focus of the 2026 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival to be the rights of transgender and non-binary people by “encouraging parade floats to show support for the trans community.”
Directors argued in a statement last Tuesday that the motion would restrict the “creative direction” of the parade’s participants and, it said, was “inconsistent with our standard application process.”
Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. (Getty)
Days after the announcement, Nguyen and Choo claimed the Board had allegedly locked their official Mardi Gras email accounts after they expressed support for the member resolutions.
The pair had previously responded to a request from an individual urging the organisation to reaffirm its support for trans rights as several Australian provinces, including Queensland, have begun banning puberty blockers for trans youth.
In a set of emails sent on 16 January, seen by PinkNews, both Choo and Nguyen said that, while they could not speak “on behalf of the Board,” they unequivocally supported highlighting injustices against the community, while expressing personal support in implementing the member resolutions.
In her own email on the request, Choo wrote: “I agree with you that these resolutions are especially important now that the Northern Territory government has ceased public health access to puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones for people under the age of 18.”
In a joint email on Friday (23 January), both Choo and Nguyen again responded to the concerned individual, claiming they could not see replies because their administrative rights had been allegedly removed.
The pair added that they were “not permitted to disclose confidential board discussions” but that they would continue to “push and vote in support of agreed upon members’ resolutions on transgender rights.”
“Our Mardi Gras accounts have been unjustly locked just minutes after our last response to you,” they wrote. “We will keep you in the loop on whatever we believe we are allowed to when it comes to trans justice and equal rights.”
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras denies allegations as ‘completely false’
A spokesperson for the organisation’s Board of Directors denied the allegations in a comment to PinkNews, adding: “Any suggestion that access to official Mardi Gras email accounts may be restricted on the basis of views on trans rights is completely false.”
They added: “Access to email accounts is governed by directors’ obligations and established governances processes, not political or ideological positions. It is disappointing that internal governance matters are being misrepresented and politicised.”
The Board of Directors faced similar allegations by trans woman and former director, Charlie Murphy, who claimed she and other members faced “disciplinary action” for joining a queer rights protest in 2021.
Another former director, Skip Blofield, made similar accusations, claiming they were stood down in 2022, allegedly alongside other trans people and people of colour.
Luc Velez, a former Board director who stepped down in 2025, accused current directors of “suppressing dissent” and caving to Australian politicians who, he argued, have “no interest in standing up for the community.”
“The Mardi Gras Board has refused to use their platform to advocate for our community,” he added. “The Parade is the time of year when so many people are looking to and thinking about us queer folk.
“It’s the perfect opportunity to send a strong message to politicians – yet this Board is instead mobilising its resources to punish those directors who refuse to comprimise on trans rights.”
Lindsay Church never saw themself as a politician, but – amid their identity being bureaucratically erased, masked ICE agents stalking their neighbourhood and the incumbent Democrat representative locking out all other party members from running this November – stranger things have happened.
A veteran, non-profit leader, parent and non-binary person, Church and their wife – who was six months pregnant at the time – fled Richmond, Virginia in 2023 amid ongoing anti-queer harassment and set up just outside Chicago in Illinois, some 800 miles away.
It was a place they had a family connection to, where they no longer heard gun shots at night or felt like they could not use the bathroom for fear of being questioned about their gender. It became home, a safe space that allowed Church to “take some of that armour off” and just enjoy the simplicity of visiting local restaurants, walking around the neighbourhood and taking their child to the park.
Increasingly, as the federal government cracks down on LGBTQ+ rights, immigrants and US citizens alike are violently detained – and shot – and the voices of local voters are effectively silenced by those in power, the newfound safety Church and their family found in Illinois is under threat.
They are not planning on standing by, though.
They have launched a campaign for federal office in the state’s 4th congressional district, forthright in their belief that “safety has never been so important, as it has been in the last few years”, not just for themselves, but their neighbours and all Americans.
“I love the people that live around the community that I get to call home because I have spent a lot of my life as a military family, never knowing where home was,” Church told PinkNews in an exclusive interview.
“We bought this home 16 days before my baby was born. We had 16 days to get everything together and being able to bring them home and know that this was a community that would love them, support them, and that they could grow in, meant everything to me.
“Forever I’m going to fight for this district, because this district brought me home.”
Covering parts of Chicago’s Southwest side, Cook County and DuPage County, Illinois’s 4th congressional district is staunchly blue and has not elected a Republican since 1986. An area with a predominantly working class, Hispanic population, it has elevated poverty levels where around 12.8 per cent of people live below the poverty line – this rises to 18 per cent for children under the age of 18.
The area was long notable for its downright bizarre design as one of the most gerrymandered congressional districts in the country, with gerrymandering being the term used to describe the manipulation of electoral boundaries to advantage a party. So odd was its shape that it inspired the Ugly Gerry font type, a front created in protest against gerrymandering by using different, unusually shaped US congressional districts as the characters for each letter. The 4th, given its shape, represented the letter ‘U’.
The district has been represented by Jesús “Chuy” García since 2018, who has easily kept a Democrat stronghold in the area and commanded a huge majority victory in each subsequent election.
In November, however, García was widely lambasted for announcing his retirement after the filing deadline had closed for the 2026 mid-term elections. It was a ploy that set up his chief of staff – who filed her own application just before the deadline – to be elected as his successor without competition, because it kept all other Democrats out of the race.
The Democrat voting population were, therefore, left with only that choice and that choice alone – hardly democratic.
That did not sit right with Church.
“Our community and our country deserves real choice. In the district that we live in, we are so heavily Democratic that the Democratic nominee genuinely goes on to win the election, which means that this decision was made for us without us casting a single ballot,” they explained.
“I’m a person that believes that democracy is worth fighting for and that it requires talking to your neighbours, your communities, the cities, everyone, in order to gain the support necessary to run.”
They continued: “Like I said, I did not imagine myself to be a politician or somebody that would run for office, but if not us, then who? And if not now, when?”
Lindsay Church is a non-binary veteran who served under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (Supplied)
Church is no stranger to having their voice silenced.
They are a veteran who served under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, a non-binary person whose identity was legislated out of existence last year by a stroke of Trump’s signature on an executive order, and in recent months they have watched as their friends who are still serving are purged from the military under the Trump administration’s re-instated trans ban.
Church was part of the original push to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and watching the ban return – which has been estimated to impact around 15,000 service people – has put their heart “at a place [they] can’t explain”.
“We don’t have representation on the floor. There’s no trans service member that has made it through to the floor of Congress. We have been fighting from outside the doors and it’s so important for us to be there, to be talking about these issues, to be representing ourselves and to see ourselves in this tapestry of America,” they explained.
“Our administration has made it so dangerous to be just a person in general,” Church continued, going on to admit that they do feel scared of what will happen to them for speaking out.
“What will the administration try to do to me? What will the media turn me into?” they questioned.
“All of it is connected to this bigger attempt to scare us into compliance and to make us so small that we don’t try to make history, that we don’t try to fight these fights.”
“This is existential for me,” Church said. “I’ve watched my existence and my communities, my friends, trans youth, literally lose every bit of their rights while we also don’t have the representation we need to fight back.”
Currently, Delaware representative Sarah McBride – who was sworn-in as the first ever out trans member of Congress in January – is the only political representation trans people have in the Legislative branch of US government.
Since her election, McBride has been subject to threats to her life and vile transphobic abuse by other elected-representatives, with South Carolina Republican and anti-trans MAGA stalwart Nancy Mace tabling a trans bathroom ban for the whole of the US Capitol just to keep McBride from using the female toilets.
That is just for being an out and visible trans person in politics, an elected representative who beyond fighting for trans rights is there to advocate for her constituents on kitchen table issues that impact everyone in her state and beyond: the inflation, job stability, living standards, quality education, healthcare access and so much more.
Lindsay Church is driven by their believe in democracy (Supplied)
People like McBride, Church said, are a “crack in the ceiling” and an “opportunity for us to see that we might be able to have a future here”.
“It can’t be one person that’s out here trying to fight back against all of this because this is an onslaught that not one person can handle or what not one person can be the fighter for.”
For Church, and all others who have found themselves the fervent target of the Trump administration’s anti-trans rhetoric, winning looks different: it is about showcasing LGBTQ+ people cannot be erased and their voices cannot be silenced.
“At this moment in time when they’re trying to tell us that people like me don’t exist and that we can’t exist, standing up and saying: ‘I don’t care what you do, I don’t care what you say, we’re not going to be erased, we’re not going to go away’.
“This is our country and we deserve to be a part of it.”
Rapper Bad Bunny has responded to MAGA whining over his upcoming Super Bowl half-time show by using it to honour Puerto Rican LGBTQ+ icons.
The 31-year-old ‘King of Latin Trap’ will reportedly pay tribute to generations of queer activists, drag performers, and cultural icons during his upcoming show on 8 February.
The award-winning singer, whose real name is Benito Ocasio, refused to cave to right-wing pressure and abuse after the National Football league (NFL) confirmed he would headline the inter-match performance this year.
Several right-wing naysayers called for a mass boycott of the major sporting event, branding it and the singer as “satanic.”
The wave of abuse included threats from the Trump administration which said it would place the singer in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility and “deport” him.
Bad Bunny at the Caught Stealing premiere. (Getty)
A source close to Ocasio claimed the star, who said he was heterosexual but “fluid” in 2020, wasn’t shaken by the backlash, adding that he “loves controversy” and was “100 per cent going to wear a dress.”
The anonymous stylist, speaking to Radar Online, said the performer planned to wear a “political thunderbolt disguised as couture” which would act as a tribute to historical LGBTQ+ figureheads in Puerto Rico. Another source said he was “not playing it safe,” and that the NFL “has no idea what’s coming. Zero.”
“Let them complain. The dress is already being sewn,” they added.
NFL remains ‘confident’ in Bad Bunny Super Bowl show
Condeming the ongoing homophobic and racist furore across right-wing and white supremacist circles, NFL commissioner Roger Goodall said he remains “confident” in the organisation’s choice.
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” he said during a press conference in October 2025. “He understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.
“I’m not sure we’ve ever selected artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
A vocal critic of MAGA Republicans and president Trump, Ocasio’s activism hasn’t slowed since being picked for the show.
He poked fun at conservatives whining over his upcoming performance during an appearance on Saturday Night Live late last year.
“You might not know this, but I’m doing the Super Bowl half-time show. And I’m very happy, and I think everybody’s happy about it… even Fox News,” he joked.
Following NFL’s announcement, Department of Homeland Security advisor, Corey Lewandowski, threatened Ocasio with deportation, saying during a podcast spot: “We will find you, we will apprehend you, we will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you.”
Bad Bunny said in December that the Super Bowl’s half-time would be his only US performance in 2026, telling I-D magazine: “f***ing ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Despite the backlash, Bad Bunny remains one of the biggest stars globally right now. He has been the top-streamed artist on Spotify for four consecutive years, with over 19.8 billion streams last year alone.
A major Pride organisation has made the “difficult decision” to close permanently over “shifting politics and increased hostility” towards the LGBTQ+ community.
The Board of Directors for Tucson Pride announced on Thursday (22 January) that it planned to cancel the upcoming Tucson Pride Festival and to begin dissolving the 49-year-old company.
A statement published on its website said the decision was regretfully made after “thoughtful discussion and careful consideration” between its newly appointed Board.
“This decision was not made lightly,” the statement reads. “We recognise the deep importance Tucson Pride has held in our community since 1977, serving as a space of visibility, advocacy, celebration, and resilience for nearly five decades.”
LGBTQ+ charities across the US and UK have faced financial difficulties over growing hostility towards the community. (Getty)
While its official statement did not delve into the reasons behind the closure, a statement published in October 2025 on its decision to delay its Pride festival cited a combination of ongoing logistical and financial difficulties.
Officials said at the time that they and other LGBTQ+ nonprofits had been massively impacted by “shifting politics and increased hostility” against the community across the US, which had caused a huge decline in donations and corporate sponsorships.
Businesses have increasingly distanced themselves from Pride and LGBTQ+ organisations over the past few years according to The Guardian. Research into the number of Pride-related social media posts by major US and UK companies found that they had plummeted by 92 per cent since 2023.
LGBTQ+ charities were hit hardest in early 2025 after US president Donald Trump signed a set of executive orders overturning federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes, leading companies across the country to scale back their inclusion policies and sponsorships.
Tucson Pride said it planned to refund all donations received for the now-cancelled 2026 festival, including vendor fees, sponsorships, and other prepaid contributions. The donations, it said, would be refunded within 30 to 90 days of its announcement.
“We want to thank the Tucson LGBTQ+ community and its allies for your unwavering support, passion, and commitment over the years. Tucson Pride exists because of you, and its legacy will forever remain part of our city’s history,” the statement continued.
A human rights organisation in Uganda that supports members of the LGBTQ+ community was ordered to shut down by the government just days before the country’s election.
Chapter Four Uganda, which is dedicated to the protection of civil liberties and promotion of human rights – including LGBTQ+ rights – in the East African nation, had its operating permit suspended with immediate effect by the National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organisations under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The suspension came just days before the country’s election, which incumbent president Yoweri Museveni – who has led the country since 1986 – won with 72 per cent.
The election was marred by violence, with Museveni’s challenger Bobi Wine alleging his win was down to “fake results” and “ballot stuffing”.
Alongside Chapter Four, several other human rights organisations in the country also had their permits suspended, with the Bureau citing alleged “intelligence information” that claimed the organisation was involved in activities deemed “prejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda” – which would violate Article 42(d) of the Non-Governmental Organisations Act.
In a statement, Chapter Four expressed “concern” over the indefinite suspension.
“The suspension is based on vague allegations that we engaged in activities that are prejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda. As a law-abiding organisation, we have closed our offices and temporarily suspended our operations. We regret any inconvenience this causes to our partners and the community of beneficiaries,” the organisation said.
“We consider this suspension unjustified and are pursuing all available administrative and legal measures to restore our operational status as soon as possible.”
The human rights organisation went on to say for more than a decade it has “worked transparently in courts of law, Parliament, and communities to protect and promote human rights, advance access to justice, and strengthen the rule of law – fostering fairer societies for all.”
It added: “We remain committed to collaborating with government authorities and the people of Uganda to advance the promise of Chapter Four in the 1995 Constitution.”
This crack down on human rights organisations is worrying for LGBTQ+ people in Uganda, who are already at heightened risk following the passage of the country’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act – which immediately became one of the strictest pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the world when it was passed.
The Act doubled down on already cruel sanctions imposed on LGBTQ+ people in Uganda, where same-sex sexual acts and freedom to talk about queer topics were already illegal.
The legislation still punishes homosexuality with imprisonment for up to life but also introduced the new offence of ‘aggravated homosexuality’, which carries the death penalty.
Acts defined as ‘aggravated homosexuality’ include sexual activity with disabled people, those who are HIV positive and people aged 75 and over – with consent to the sexual act not constituting a defence to a charge. This category also applies to criminal offences such as rape of a child or adult and incest.
‘Attempted homosexuality’ is also punishable by law, with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison possible, while ‘attempted aggravated homosexuality’ can be met with up to 14 years imprisonment.
Condemning the suspension of Chapter Four’s permit, Kechukwu Uzoma, senior staff attorney at the Kennedy Human Rights Center, said: “The weaponisation of vague laws and attacks on the right to freedom of association during electoral periods directly violate the right to vote.
“Such repressive actions undermine the integrity of elections and weaken democracy at its core. All stakeholders, including the African Union, must act now.”
A former Space Force colonel fired by the Trump administration over her gender identity has raised over $100,000 less than 24 hours after launching a political campaign.
Retired astronautical engineer Bree Fram’s campaign to represent Virginia in US Congress has already skyrocketed into outer space less than a week after she made the announcement.
The 46-year-old Colonel announced her intention to run for the Congressional seat in a Tuesday (20 January) Instagram clip.
Bree Fram. (Getty)
“Too many Americans are afraid of what their own government is doing to them, instead of being confident in what it can do for them,” she said in the clip. “That’s why I’m running for Congress.”
Following the announcement, Fram launched a 24-hour fundraising haul aimed at raising funds for her campaign. In less than a day, it received more than $102,000 from at least 400 donors across 46 states, according to MetroWeekly.
She thanked donors in a social media post after the fundraising haul closed, saying they had helped to “turn the page on chaos, vengeance, and attacks on personal freedom.”
Fram was infamously removed from her position as an active duty officer of the United States Space Force in June 2025 after the US government enforced its ban on transgender military personnel. She is believed to be the highest ranking trans officer to have been fired under the executive order.
During her 23 years of service, Fram was deployed in Iraq and Qatar as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, eventually serving in both the US Air Force and Space Force. She came out as trans in 2016 and later became the first trans woman to reach the rank of Colonel.
She was among thousands of personnel ejected from their positions in the United States armed forces over the executive order, despite Trump administration officials struggling to justify the action.
Following her campaign announcement, Fram told InsideNoVa that she was not running “on a platform that is about identity” but rather on the basis of defending Americans’ “basic rights, particularly freedom of speech [and] freedom of assembly.”
“This is the calling”
The mother of two emphasised the need to restore democratic freedoms dismantled by the Trump administration in an interview with The Advocate, promising not to back down from the fight.
“No matter what rock we might look under, you can find something this administration has [done] that is worthy of not only an investigation but being held accountable,” she said, accusing Donald Trump of failing to “faithfully execute the laws of the United States and to fulfil his oath to support and defend the Constitution.”
Her focus is on ensuring Congress focuses on protecting Americans by investing in issues like social security, disease prevention, housing, and more.
“This is the calling,” she said. “If we don’t stand up now, we might not have anything to stand up for in the future.”
A group of transgender Girl Scouts have collectively sold over 71,000 cookies thanks to a heartwarming annual campaign.
Every year, independent trans journalist Erin Reed curates a list of trans and non-binary youngsters who are part of Girl Scout troops and asks readers to buy a box of cookies as part of a fundraising drive to help “make a few of their days better.”
Girl Scouts in the US famously sell boxes of biscuits between January and April to help raise funds for the youth organisation, raking in an average of over $800 million per year. Girl Scouts earn cumulative prizes depending on the amount of boxes they sell.
Over one million Girl Scouts sell an average of $800 million worth of cookies each year. (Getty)
Reed, 36, first decided to help trans Girl Scouts sell their boxes in 2022 upon discovering that the non-profit’s inclusion policy allows trans youngsters to join.
She revealed in a Thursday (22 January) blog post that this year’s curated list of nearly 200 Girl Scouts members had already helped them to sell a combined 71,254 boxes. This year’s boxes are priced at $6, meaning the drive has helped to raise an estimated sum of at least $427,524 in just three weeks.
While Reed said there was no way of knowing how many of those boxes were sold as a direct result of the campaign, she noted her list had been seen by over 2 million people on Facebook alone, adding that its reach has been “enormous.”
“With weeks still left in the season, [the number of boxes sold] is certain to climb even higher,” she said.
Girl Scouts campaign a ‘rare source of joy’ for trans youth
The campaign comes as political and legislative attacks targeting trans youngsters in the US continue to rip through state and federal governments.
It’s estimated that 39.4 per cent of trans youth live in a US state that has bannedgender-affirming care in some capacity, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Other legislative attacks on trans young people include bills forcing schools to out them to their parents or guardians, restricting LGBTQ+ subjects from school curriculum, or banning them from sporting events.
Reed said her campaign started predominantly to give trans young people hope as their fundamental human rights are further stripped away from them. She said she has heard from hundreds of trans young people and their families thanking her for starting the fundraiser.
“Transgender youth in the United States are under extraordinary pressure right now,” she said. “Many have lost access to health care as hospitals capitulate to the Trump administration, while others face constant hostility from political leaders in their own communities.
“Again and again, families and scouts themselves say the cookie drive has become a rare source of joy, a reminder that people across the country see them, value them, and care about their lives.”
If you are US-based, you can still donate to any one of the 189 participating Girl Scouts by viewing Erin Reed’s list here. Buyers are recommended to purchase boxes from participants who have not yet filled their goals, and must use the “ship the cookies” option to receive their order.
Gay hockey rivals-to-lovers show Heated Rivalry is all anyone can talk about, and for fans of the series looking for a real life queer love story in the sport then they need look no further than the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Heated Rivalry is an adaption of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series and follows two hockey players, Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) and Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams), who are rivals on the ice but lovers between the sheets.
“Shane and Ilya are two of the biggest stars in major league hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands,” the show’s synopsis reads, for those who have somehow missed the Heated Rivalrytrain.
“Their secret fling evolves into an eight-year journey of self-discovery and rivalry. Over time, they must learn how to chase their desires on and off the ice.
“Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile and as powerful as real love.”
The show has been a smash-hit since it premiere in November, scoring 99 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and becoming Crave’s most-watched original series to date, with a huge fandom emerged in just two months – if the 8,000 works on AO3 are anything to go by…
For those eager for some real life queer hockey romance, you only need to look to pro hockey stars Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolainen, who play on different teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and will face off against each other at the Winter Olympics in northeastern Italy but are engaged to be married.
Swedish star Kjellbin defenceman for the Toronto Sceptres while Finnish player Savolainen is a defenceman for Ottawa Charge.
Back in 2024, Savolainen confirmed love does not get in the way of competition, saying of playing against Kjellbin: “I don’t care who’s in front of me … if it’s going to be her, I’m going to hit her. We can take it up after the game.”
She added: “When you play, you just play. You don’t really think about who’s there. You’re friends after. On the ice, she’s my enemy. That’s how it goes.”
As per Out Sports, the couple were dating for five years before announcing their engagement in 2024.
Alongside Kjellbin and Savolainen, Cosmopolitan has also featured a story about skeleton sliders Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira, who are married and previously faced off against each other during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“It’s very special to be able to share [the] Olympic Games with your partner,” Meylemans said back in 2022.
“It’s an extremely stressful, high-pressure period, so to have my person there as a comfort and safe space is of immense value to me, and also my performance. It brings a sense of calmness and normality into the [craziest] weeks of our career.”
The couple tied the knot on 1 August 2025 in a small, pre-Olympics ceremony, with plans for a “big dream beach wedding” in 2026.
“With the Games being in Italy and the current Italian government making decisions/laws that hurt the LGBTQ+ community…it feels extra special to potentially compete as a married couple and shine a light on marriage equality while doing so,” the couple said in a joint Instagram post.
“We’re still having our big dream beach wedding next year… We really love heading into this huge season and possibly last Olympic Games as spouses…no matter what curve balls this year and the challenges ahead will throw at us, our love comes first.”
