USA Skating Duo Evan Bates and Madison Chock Reveal How They’re Preparing for the Olympics as Newlyweds (Exclusive)

Evan Bates and Madison Chock are gearing up to hit the ice for their first Winter Olympics as husband and wife.

The skating duo, who tied the knot in June 2024, have begun preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and say that so far, things are going “really well.”

“We’re just at the very start of our season, building our programs, making the costumes, so we’re still in the creative process,” Chock, 33, told PEOPLE from the Ralph Lauren Suite at the US Open. 

Bates, 36, added, “We're really excited about the material that we’ve made this year. We feel like it's unique, creative and something different than what we've done in the past. We’re working hard.”

The ice dancers, who have been skating together for over a decade, won gold in the team event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Now, they admit that aiming to repeat that success brings “a little bit of pressure.”

“We certainly want to do better each year and top ourselves in whatever creative or athletic way we did the year before,” Chock explained. “I think it’s just a matter of setting your goals and being determined to make them happen.”

Chock and Bates began dating in 2017 after years of skating together and being close friends. Since getting married, they say their personal bond has only strengthened their on-ice performance.

“It definitely helps,” Bates said. “It’s not always easy — we’re pushing ourselves hard to be our very best — but at the same time, the foundation is that we’re best friends.”

He continued, “We’ve known each other for 20 years, we’ve been a couple for 10 years and now husband and wife for just over a year. I think the trust is there, the friendship is there and that’s what is the strongest part of our relationship.” 

Reflecting on their first year of marriage, the couple says they’ve learned even more about one another.

“The time has just flown by,” Chock said of their Hawaii wedding, surrounded by family and friends — including Olympic figure skaters Adam Rippon, Meryl Davis, Alexa Knierim and others. “The greatest lesson is just to slow down and appreciate everything. There’s been so much going on in our lives, and it feels like things just keep moving faster as the Olympics come. So we're gonna just do our best to really slow down and take it all in and enjoy every moment because it's the journey that's important.”

Bates added that his biggest takeaway isn’t so much a lesson, but a deepened appreciation.

“I would say the lesson is more of a realization that I've just grown to appreciate Maddie even more in marriage," he said. "We've always been in love, but the appreciation for the partnership and the trust and the love is growing, and I think that's part of the key.”