Madison La’akea Te-Lan Hall Chock and Evan Christian Bates have had a long, intense journey together as skating partners for the last 13 years. They have competed in more than 100 competitions globally and won five U.S. national champion titles, two world champion titles and one Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
But the biggest moment of their lives, they said, took place on June 20: exchanging leis as they said “I do” at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute in Oahu, Hawaii.
They decided to get married there to honor Ms. Chock’s Hawaiian heritage. The venue is a cultural institute dedicated to the preservation of Hawaiian culture.
The couple met 18 years ago in Michigan, “the mecca for ice dance at that time,” Ms. Chock said.
Ms. Chock, who grew up in Redondo Beach, Calif., moved to Novi, Mich., in 2005, at age 13, to transition from singles figure skating to ice dancing, which requires a partner. Mr. Bates was living in Ann Arbor, where he grew up.
They trained at different skating rinks that were about 20 minutes away from each other, but the ice dance community was a small one. They met some time in 2006.
Both were flourishing with their ice skating partners. Mr. Bates, now 35, and his partner were world junior champions in 2008. Ms. Chock, 31, and her partner won in 2009.
In 2010, after competing in his first Winter Olympics, Mr. Bates’s Achilles’ tendon was severed by his partner’s skate blade. He was off the ice for a year. Around the same time, Ms. Chock’s dance partner retired from skating.
So, in 2011, they both found themselves looking for a new partner. At the time, they were training at the same rink in Canton, Mich., under the same coach. A few different ice skaters auditioned to become Ms. Chock’s partner, including Mr. Bates.
“I sort of just waited to see if she was going to pick me,” Mr. Bates said. And she did. They officially became dance partners in July 2011.
The two have a foot-long height difference, which isn’t typical for ice dance partners. Many people were giving the pair grief, Mr. Bates said, “but we just really hit it off, enjoying our time together, always laughing and joking. The chemistry was really good.”
It took five years for their partnership to become romantic. Outside of skating, they had separate lives. For the first few years of their partnership, Mr. Bates was attending the University of Michigan, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior. Ms. Chock had her own social life in Novi.
They developed a solid relationship on ice, practicing five hours a day. They also competed about once a month worldwide. They bonded during their travels, competing in Russia, China, Taiwan, France, Canada and many other countries. Their first trip together was to Helsinki, Finland, in October 2011, a few months after they became partners, for the Finlandia Trophy, an international competition.
The duo took time to find their footing; in June 2014, they took a trip to Hawaii and trained in acrobatics for the first time. There, they started developing the skills that they are now known for, including their distinctive lifts. They began to see a turn in their performance at competitions. And in 2014, they went to their first Olympics together in Sochi, Russia.
The 2014 Winter Olympics, set by the Black Sea, was a particularly exciting experience for the two. “You get there and it’s just overwhelming: Everything’s so big and colorful, and it’s just a melting pot of interesting athletes and people,” Mr. Bates said. “And there are all these parties.”
During one competition, they did a program to “Les Misérables,” the dramatic love story. As ice dancers, the partners would often act out roles — including as lovers for romantic programs.
“I realized it wasn’t really that difficult because I really did feel those strong emotions for Maddie,” Mr. Bates said.
They also skated to “An American in Paris,” another romantic film, at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai, China, where they received a silver medal and stepped on the podium at a world championship competition for the first time. That year was their breakthrough year. They also won their first national title at the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Despite seeing more success in competitions, the 2016 season was a particularly tough one for the duo. They were reaching roadblocks creatively.
“I remember going through periods of being really unhappy on the ice, even though we were having success,” Mr. Bates said. “And I realized that Maddie was really just my rock through everything,”
He turned 27 that year, and had the realization that what they had was more than just a professional relationship. “I really felt like I wasn’t going to be able to not make it known,” he said.
“I felt like there was always something there — a spark,” he added. “But we always kept it professional. After five years of highs and lows together as partners, he confessed his feelings.
“He took me by surprise,” Ms. Chock said, even though the people around them had always been suspicious that there was something more between them. “But then at the same time, I wasn’t surprised. I was like, ‘Oh, actually I have feelings for you, too.’”
She had just never thought about him as a romantic prospect before. “That was something in my head: I’m never going to date my skating partner. It’s just not in the cards for me,” Ms. Chock said. “And now look at me.”
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After he confessed his feelings for her in 2016, they treaded carefully. They were preparing for the 2018 Winter Olympics, thinking that it might be their last Olympics together, given the typical career length of skaters. (“We wouldn’t have ever guessed that we would still be skating in 2024,” Mr. Bates said.)
That summer, they toured with Stars on Ice, a figure skating show produced by IMG. They were on the road for six weeks, traveling to different cities in the country. They were getting a feel for each other in a new way. Finally, in December, during a trip to Paris around Christmas time after a competition in Marseilles, they made their relationship official.
From there, they went from spending half their time together to all their time together. They started having dates at restaurants and movie theaters. Mr. Bates also introduced Ms. Chock to video games. She played Zelda, Hogwarts Legacy and Animal Crossing. “Now she’s the gamer,” Mr. Bates said.
Since becoming romantically involved, the couple have learned to balance their personal and professional partnerships.
“When we get on the ice, we’re a little bit more driven,” Mr. Bates said. “We have an edge.” They have learned to let the other person show their competitive, fiery side on ice. They also have developed an understanding that they each have different roles and “shouldn’t be occupying each other’s space and trying to do each other’s job,” Ms. Chock said.
Mr. Bates is a bit more pragmatic, coming from a technical background, and Ms. Chock is more artistic — though they’ve both picked up on the other’s skills over time. Ms. Chock has been drawing her costumes since they started skating together. Now, she designs for other skaters as well with Madison Chock Design, a label she debuted in 2023.
In 2018, the couple moved to Montreal, where they started working with their current coaches, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. Their coaches are also former ice dancers who are now married to each other. Having them as mentors has helped the couple overcome the new challenges they started facing since becoming romantically involved.
On June 11, 2022, Mr. Bates proposed in Phuket, Thailand, with an antique Cartier diamond ring. The 6/11 date had significance: “Six years of dating, 11 years of skating together. And I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you,” Mr. Bates said as he got down on one knee.
On June 20, the couple were married in front of 90 guests by Steffany Hanlen, who was ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion. Ms. Hanlen led the Ho’oponopono prayer, an ancient Hawaiian healing prayer. Mr. Bates’s brother was his best man, and his 4-year-old nephew was the ring bearer. Ms. Chock’s best friend, Sarah Cojocaru, was her maid of honor.
After the 2026 Olympics in Italy, the couple are excited to start planning for their future post-skating, and to spend quality time with family after a career’s worth of sacrificing family time and holidays.
For now, though, they’re excited to finish their final seasons competitively together with a bang, and to “enjoy what we do — performing,” Ms. Chock said. “As a married couple.”
On This Day
When June 20, 2024
Where Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute, Oahu, Hawaii
Vera Wang For her wedding dress, Ms. Chock worked with Vera Wang, who was present during fittings. Her father wore a matching tuxedo. “It was a dream come true,” Ms. Chock said about collaborating with the designer. “Ever since I was growing up skating and designing my costumes, I was always inspired by Vera and her dresses. She also made skating costumes for Michelle Kwan and Evan Lysacek. She’s a fixture in fashion, bridal fashion and skating fashion.”
Madison Chock Design Ms. Chock designed much of her ensemble for the wedding week. She worked with her skating costume maker, Mathieu Caron, for an outfit for the welcome event, which took place June 18: a corseted tube top and a draped ivory silk skirt. She also worked with Mr. Caron for the second look for the after-party: a slip dress embroidered with palm leaves and beaded fringe.
Celebrating Hawaiian Culture Ms. Chock’s father walked her down the aisle, and her mother sang the traditional Hawaiian Wedding Song during the ceremony. The couple incorporated Hawaiian culture into their celebration with floral décor and food. They served traditional dishes like pork belly, poke, yuzu scallops and shaved ice.
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