Hilary Knight Girlfriend Brittany Bowe Says Their Olympic Romance Ended in an Engagement
Hilary Knight Girlfriend Brittany Bowe says their relationship began at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and culminated in an engagement during a trip taken ahead of the 2026 Milan Olympic Games, a milestone the couple marked with family in attendance.
Hilary Knight Girlfriend: a first date in the Olympic bubble
Bowe said the pair ran into each other at Team USA events over the years but didn’t begin their courtship until the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where strict COVID-19 protocols shaped their early dates. Their first outing was a masked, socially distanced walk around the Olympic Village, and the speed skater recalled dinners that took place while the athletes were separated by plexiglass. "We were kind of just living in this bubble in Beijing, " Bowe said, describing how the lack of family, friends and fans allowed them to talk and get to know one another deeply.
From visits between competitions to a Salt Lake City home and a thin band
After Beijing, the two athletes kept finding chances to be together despite living in different states and a busy PWHL schedule for Hilary; Bowe said they "found ourselves any chance we got to make a trip to see one another. " Two years after they first became a couple, they bought a home together in Salt Lake City, Utah, which Bowe called their first big move and a way to "show up for each other every day. "
Ahead of the 2026 Milan Olympic Games, Hilary chose a thin band with inlaid diamonds for the proposal. Bowe said she hadn’t expected a proposal on that trip and had joked two days before that "That finger is looking pretty naked these days, " a line she says Hilary heard without revealing the plan. Having both sides of their families with them for the games made the moment especially meaningful, and Bowe said those family gatherings nearly spoiled the surprise; the morning of February 18, they were heading out when that risk surfaced.
What the engagement means now and what’s next
The engagement came as the couple balanced Olympic cycles, professional women’s hockey, and World Cup travel; Bowe noted that both athletes are "tunnel visioned at times" but that shared drive helps them understand one another. The proposal occurred on the trip taken ahead of the 2026 Milan Olympic Games, and the couple has already established a shared home in Salt Lake City as they continue competing.
The next confirmed milestone for the pair is their continued presence in the Olympic cycle around the 2026 Milan Olympic Games, where the engagement took place during the run-up to Hilary’s gold-medal hockey game.
