Not even Ellen DeGeneres could get Canadian ice dance sensations Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to say they are more than friends.
Virtue and Moir appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday, and the popular host asked them point-blank what a lot of skating fans have been wondering — “Are you a couple?”
While pictures of the two-time Olympic champions’ steamy routines danced across a large screen, Virtue poured cold water over the suggestion that the on-ice chemistry extended beyond the rink.
“We are not [a couple], but we always say ‘That’s a big compliment,”‘ Virtue said. “What we portray on the ice is really important to us, and we love getting into character and telling a story.
“A lot of the emotions we portray are universal themes that resonate with everyone, so the fact that people feel invested in our partnership is truly remarkable.”
“When the music ended [at the 2018 Olympics] I just looked at Scott and I was so grateful to have lived the last 20 years by his side and to share in that moment together.”
“So you’re a couple,” DeGeneres said to laughter from the audience, but the skaters weren’t taking the bait.
“If we were, we would announce it here,” Virtue said.
Moir admitted that he and Virtue did in fact date as children, to the amusement of their parents.
“But we didn’t talk to each other,” Moir said. “I remember when we were skating, we would just hold hands and avoid eye contact.
“In order to advance our partnership we had to put the hot and heavy relationship on the side.”
Despite adamantly denying they are an item, Moir and Virtue did do fairly well at a “Dating Game” segment to test their chemistry.
Moir knew that Virtue would want Emma Watson to play her in a movie. Virtue correctly guessed that Moir’s celebrity crush was Reese Witherspoon — at least in the film Walk the Line — and that his greatest fear was mascots.
Virtue and Moir won their second career ice dance gold at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February while helping Canada claim the gold in the team event. The medals made the pair the most decorated Olympic figure skaters of all time.
