MILAN (AP) — Jutta Leerdam was in the middle of an interview after winning a speedskating gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Monday when she looked up to see her fiancé, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, walking over.
She interrupted an answer to say, “Hi, babe!” and leaned in for a kiss as Paul put his hands on her shoulders.
A moment later, Paul headed for an arena exit with multiple bodyguards and someone filming his every move for a documentary. Paul wore a scarf with the orange color of the Dutch team as he watched from a second-row seat while Leerdam finished first in the women’s 1,000 meters for her first Olympic gold.
“Man, words can’t even describe it. It’s the greatest feeling (of) anything I’ve ever witnessed, to be honest,” Paul told The Associated Press. “Just the amount of hard work that goes into it. Like 99.9% of people will never understand. And she pulled it off, under the most amount of pressure ever.”
During the race, Paul was the very picture of focus, alternating clapping or wringing his hands while standing to watch Leerdam compete.
“He knows the pressure I felt, and the buildup and everything. He’s just felt everything with me,” Leerdam said. “He is definitely emotionally involved.”
When she was done, and had won, she went over to the sideboards in front of where Paul was and paused, crying. She blew a kiss and made a heart shape with her hands while looking up toward Paul.
Leerdam collected a silver in the 1,000 four years ago at the Beijing Games and owns a pair of world titles at that distance. She also won three of the four World Cup 1,000-meter races she entered this season. She raced in the last of 15 heats Monday.
Separately, Leerdam and Paul draw big crowds to their social media sites — her Instagram page has about 5 million followers; his has more than 28 million. Together, they draw a lot of eyeballs and interest.
Leerdam and Paul posted news about their engagement on Instagram in March.
Paul is not shy about offering his opinions on all manner of matters, and he has been critical on social media in recent days about American Olympians expressing their opinions about what is going on back in their country at the moment. He also sent a series of posts to X about Puerto Rico music star Bad Bunny’s appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show, including: “Turn off this halftime. A fake American performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”
That drew a rebuke on social media from his brother, Logan, who wrote: “I love my brother but I don’t agree with this. Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”
Later, Jake Paul posted again to say that he lives in Puerto Rico and he agreed with Bad Bunny’s sentiment that “love is more powerful than hate.” But he added that he thinks voicing criticism of the U.S. is “being a fake citizen.”
His bodyguards ended the interview with the AP before Paul could be asked about those topics Monday.
Earlier at these Olympics, Paul sat with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at a women’s hockey game that the United States won 5-0 against Finland.
Leerdam is a 27-year-old Dutch athlete who also is scheduled to participate in the 500 meters next Sunday.
Her trophy collection includes 12 world championship medals, with six golds. Two of those titles arrived in the 1,000 — in 2020 and 2023.
Now she has an Olympic gold, too.
Paul is a 29-year-old American influencer who first gained fame for his YouTube videos and then made his way into the world of boxing about five years ago.
He most recently had his jaw broken during sixth-round knockout loss to former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at Miami in December.
Paul has also gone up against a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024, plus Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., retired UFC fighters Anderson Silva and Nate Díaz, and former NBA player Nate Robinson.
As he left Monday’s venue, he pointed out that it was harder “to sit there, for sure,” watching Leerdam than to enter the ring himself.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
