Gay Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy now has a ring to accompany his silver medal after becoming engaged to boyfriend Andrew Rigby.
The couple, who have been together since 2024, shared the story of their romantic Mediterranean engagement with People on 5 August.
Kenworthy proposed on 4 August while the pair were holidaying off the coast of Mallorca, Spain. The four-time Olympian arranged a private journey to the island of Torre de ses Illetes, where a picnic was waiting on top of the cliffs.
“We took a private dinghy from the pier at the St Regis where we were having a cocktail by the beach at the Mar Sea Club. I told Andrew I was taking him on a little adventure. Once we got to the island, we climbed off the dinghy and hiked up to the top of the cliffs,” Kenworthy told People.
“I organised for a picnic blanket to be waiting for us with a pitcher of margaritas – extra sweet because that’s how Andrew orders them. After the proposal, we got back on the dinghy – but instead of going back to the mainland, it took us out to a chartered boat.”
Six friends who had been let in on the plan were hiding aboard the chartered boat, ready to surprise Rigby and celebrate with the newly engaged couple.
The couple exchanged Cartier 1895 bands, with Kenworthy choosing a gold ring and Rigby receiving a platinum version. Kenworthy had reportedly spent about a month organising the proposal.
From a brief meeting to a long-distance romance
Kenworthy and Rigby first crossed paths almost a decade ago in Sydney, where the skier was appearing at a speaking engagement.
Their initial interaction was brief, and it would be several years before they had the opportunity to properly get to know each other.
They met again in March 2024 at a mutual friend’s 40th birthday celebration in Guadalajara, Mexico. A relationship followed, with the pair initially managing the distance between Kenworthy in Los Angeles and Rigby in Sydney.
“We did long distance L.A. to Sydney for about a year, and then we both moved to New York together a year ago,” Kenworthy said.
The pair made their relationship public on Instagram in August 2024 and have continued sharing glimpses of their travels and life together.
Rigby said he had no idea that their Mallorca holiday would end with a proposal.
“We’ve talked about this a lot obviously, but I thought this was just a relaxing vacation. To say I was shocked was an understatement. And then to see our friends there immediately after Gus proposed? Wow,” he told People.
The proposal came at the end of a busy European trip during which the couple attended Berlin Pride and Amsterdam WorldPride before travelling to Mallorca for what Rigby believed would be a chance to unwind.
Rigby supported Kenworthy’s Olympic return
The engagement follows an eventful year for Kenworthy, who returned to professional freestyle skiing after previously retiring following the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
He competed for Great Britain at the 2026 Winter Games, marking his fourth Olympic appearance, and finished sixth in the men’s halfpipe. Rigby supported him throughout the competition, with Kenworthy later describing his partner as his “calm in the storm”.
Kenworthy made his Olympic debut representing the United States at Sochi in 2014, where he won silver in the men’s slopestyle event. He represented the US again in 2018 before competing for Great Britain in 2022 and 2026.
He publicly came out as gay in 2015, one year after winning his Olympic medal, and became one of the most prominent openly gay athletes in action sports.
Kenworthy has since used his profile to advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility, particularly within elite sport, where openly queer male athletes have historically been under-represented.
The couple have not yet publicly shared details about when or where they plan to marry.
