Evan Bates Revealed He & Madison Chock Went Through ‘Trying Times’ in Their Marriage Before the 2026 Olympics—He Can’t Imagine Going Their ‘Separate Ways’
StyleCaster Editors
They just won their first Olympic gold medal on the US Olympic Skating team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and Evan Bates and Madison Chock are so close to winning a second one for Ice Dance: Free Dance as a duo.
Bates and Chock became skating partners in 2011 after Chock’s longtime partner, Greg Zuerlein, retired, and Bates parted ways with Emily Samuelson. It wasn’t until five years later that they developed romantic feelings for each other (even though they did go on a couple of dates together when they were teenagers). Now, they’ve taken all that they’ve learned about each other and put those experiences in their passionate ice dance routines.
Related: How to Watch the Winter Olympics Live for Free & Catch Every Gold Medal Moment
Are Evan Bates & Madison Chock still married?
Evan Bates and Madison Chock are still happily married and are relishing all their accomplishments at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The two tied the knot in Chock’s home island of Kauai in Hawaii in 2024, and the ceremony was officiated by their skating mentor and performance coach Steffany Hanlen. “Getting married means I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend,” Chock told People about the wedding. “We will face the future and share all of life’s moments together, supporting and celebrating each other.”
“I think we’ve changed so much as people over the years that our experience will undoubtedly be different this time,” Chock told the Associated Press. “Just what we’ve learned, how we’ll handle ourselves under pressure, how we’ll enjoy the moment — there’s a lot to look forward to but a lot of experience to guide us as well.”
The couple has immensely prepared for their upcoming competition. “Our perspective has shifted over the four Olympic cycles we’ve been through,” Bates said at the recent U.S. Olympic Committee media summit in New York City in Nov. 2025. “There’s more of an appreciation for the difficult times than what we’ve had in the past. We recognize the value of each and every moment, the good ones and the bad ones alike.”
In an interview with Us Weekly before the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, Bates recounted the evolution of their relationship. “We skated together for five years and it was just a friendship, but the friendship was good,” Bates said. “From day one, we always had a connection. We were laughing, we enjoyed our time together. It made skating so fun. Over the five years, we had success, but also didn’t have success. We had a lot of trying times. In those trying times, I really realized how much I relied on Maddie and really felt connected to her in a way that went beyond just as a skating partner.”
He continued, “I remember thinking, ‘I can’t really imagine one day walking out of the rink and going our separate ways, being friends and just not seeing each other anymore.’ I made the realization, I shared the realization and, luckily, the realization was reciprocated. That changed everything in our relationship and our partnership.”
“Skating was always the main focus, but as we’ve gotten older, I think the relationship has become the main focus,” Bates said in an interview with People in January. “Skating obviously is still the main focus, but skating is kind of like our means of strengthening ourselves and our relationship and going through all the experiences of life together, and so the appreciation for the partnership has grown.”
In an interview with Today, Bates, 36, and Chock, 32, talked about their future after their figure skating careers. “We don’t know what the future holds for us, but we know that we’ll be riding through it and supporting each other,” Bates said. As for options, Chock is an experienced designer and has designed costumes for the Spain and Georgia national teams, while Bates loves to golf.
