{"id":1792640,"date":"2026-02-12T21:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792640"},"modified":"2026-02-12T21:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:32:47","slug":"exclusive-breezy-johnson-and-connor-watkins-share-their-olympic-engagement-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792640","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Breezy Johnson and Connor Watkins Share Their Olympic Engagement Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/698e37df5a8647c1883e0ff0\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/processed-309C3085-179B-48A2-BFB5-9A8C1CD2976F.jpeg”]<\/p>\n

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Weddings<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Gold Medalist Breezy Johnson and Connor Watkins Share their Olympic Engagement Love Story<\/h1>\n
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By <\/span>Shelby Wax<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Photo: Sierra Ryder\/U.S. Ski Team<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Olympic gold medal skier Breezy Johnson won white gold at the end of her 2026 Milano Cortina super-G race: an engagement ring from her partner, Connor Watkins. \u201cNow I can\u2019t be like, \u2018Was my favorite week of my life when I got engaged or when I won the Olympics?\u2019\u201d Breezy Johnson jokes to Vogue<\/em> a few hours after their engagement. \u201cWe just combined the two greatest moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breezy and Connor first connected two-and-a-half years ago in Utah, via Bumble. \u201cI would say our timeline really fits in well with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce,\u201d laughs Breezy, a self-professed Swiftie. At the time, the skier was living in Park City, while the construction project manager was based in Salt Lake City. Connor noted his love of singer Noah Kahan on his profile, and Breezy opened by sharing she just saw him perform at a private event. \u201cI thought, Well, that\u2019s pretty cool,\u201d<\/em> says Connor. When the two met for a first date at a brunch spot, Connor had no idea that he was about to meet an Olympic athlete. He remembers, \u201cWe started talking about me at first, and when I switched over to her, and I was like, \u2018So what do you do?\u2019\u201d She casually stated that she skied. \u201cPeople get kind of thrown on the back when you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m an Olympic skier.\u2019 So I think I just started out small,\u201d Breezy explains. Connor adds: \u201cI just told myself to keep cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few weeks after the two started seeing each other, Breezy had to leave for three weeks of training. \u201cI feel like that was kind of my first inclination that it was gonna work,\u201d she shares. \u201cI\u2019m not always the most organized person, and he was very good about texting me and checking in with me. That was reassuring. Like, my room is a complete mess right now, and he\u2019s organized. He definitely complements me in many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s relationship grew as they went through some difficult times together, including Breezy\u2019s 14-month suspension from racing in 2023. \u201cThat was somewhat early in when we were dating and was a lot to deal with,\u201d says the skier. \u201cI felt like if we could get through that, we could get through a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a silver lining to it,\u201d Connor adds. \u201cIt did allow us to be together and build a nice space for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April 2024, Breezy and Connor officially moved in together in Salt Lake City, where they now live with their two cats, Wolfie and Apricot. The move coincided with the release of Taylor Swift\u2019s song \u201cThe Alchemy,\u201d which felt especially meaningful for the pair. The song has many sports allusions (likely inspired by Kelce) and metaphors about what the prize truly is\u2014the gold trophy, or the person in the stands. \u201cYou get to a point as an athlete where winning is really cool, but the coolest part is being able to share it with the people that you love,\u201d says Breezy. \u201cWhen you have somebody really important to you, and you actually get the opportunity to spot them in the stands and run over to them\u2014it\u2019s really special.\u201d Connor held onto the lyrics of that song when planning his proposal to Breezy. Inside a custom wood box, he had inscribed: \u201cHonestly, who are we to fight the alchemy.\u201d (They both add that they wouldn\u2019t mind if Taylor Swift wanted to make an appearance at their wedding.)<\/p>\n

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Photo: Sierra Ryder\/U.S. Ski Team<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Breezy admits that she told Connor her dream of getting engaged at the Olympics just three months into dating. \u201cIt was kind of a double benefit for me, because that was a couple of years off, so he wouldn\u2019t have any pressure,\u201d she says. \u201cIt [felt like] just far enough out there that we could figure out if this was gonna work.\u201d Time passed, and a year out from the Olympics, Connor asked Breezy what she would want in an engagement ring. \u201cI\u2019m always a big believer that options make you less happy with things,\u201d says Breezy. \u201cI was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to go ring shopping. I want you design it.\u2019\u201d Connor got to work and had a ring ready to go by August 2025\u2014a white gold design with a blue sapphire center stone and a curved, pav\u00e9 band with white sapphires. Breezy notes how perfect the choice of a sapphire ring was. \u201cI\u2019m so much more of a color person,\u201d she explains. \u201cI was not sold on the white diamond thing.\u201d Connor adds: \u201cBlue is also her color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning an Olympics proposal came with some extensive coordination. \u201cThe most important thing at the Olympics is the racing and doing the thing. I did not want to take away from that and make sure that whatever I did complemented it,\u201d says Connor. He decided he would wait till after her final race\u2014the super-G\u2014to pop the question. He looped in the U.S. ski team with his plans in October to see what would be feasible. \u201cThey were an amazing resource,\u201d he says. They helped arrange for Connor to get into the athlete\u2019s finish area surrounded by their close friends from the ski team, as well as the NBC cameras to capture the moment. \u201cI had a backup plan and a backup to the backup plan,\u201d Connor says. Those alternatives almost had to be actioned after Breezy fell during the race. Luckily, she got down with only a few bruises and was able to join Connor at the perfect time. \u201cIt was definitely a surprise in the moment,\u201d the skier says.<\/p>\n

As Breezy was still in her Team USA ski gear, Connor got down on one knee and gave a thoughtful speech asking her to marry him. He admits that he first started running lines of it by his therapist a few weeks in advance. \u201cI wrote 90% of it on the plane here,\u201d he says. \u201cI will tell you, I did not have it memorized until this morning. I had my eyes closed in the stands, talking myself through it multiple times because I knew NBC was going to mic me up.\u201d Breezy said yes through tears, and the couple embraced as the crowd cheered around them.<\/p>\n

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Breezy Johnson and Fiance during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games – engagement party on February 12, 2026 at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina, Italy.@emily_tidwell_photo \/\/ @usskiteam<\/span>Photo: Emily Tidwell\/U.S. Ski & Snowboard<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The newly engaged pair spoke with Vogue<\/em> ahead of a planned toast with their team that night. They mentioned their excitement to spend more time in Italy together after the engagement and watch Breezy\u2019s best friend race in the moguls. They also said they were excited to enjoy the slopes, pasta, and wine before heading back home. When asked if they were planning to have an engagement party soon, they admitted that Breezy would need to finish up the ski world cup season first. \u201cOh my gosh, when I get back mid-March, we\u2019ll definitely have tons of engagement and gold-medal celebrations,\u201d shares the Olympian. She says they are excited to get wedding planning, and will likely find a time around her racing schedule the following year.<\/p>\n

A short time after our video call, they got an even bigger surprise. After posting their engagement pics to Instagram, Taylor Swift herself commented on Breezy\u2019s post: \u201cWhere\u2019s the trophy? He just comes running over to me. CONGRATULATIONS!!!\u201d The Olympian replied: \u201c@taylorswift I don\u2019t know what\u2019s better, Olympic gold or this comment. Sourdough engagement gift please??? would love to teach you to ski.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Breezy does love that she can now call her new fianc\u00e9 \u201cher ex-boyfriend\u201d\u2014but most of all, the gold medalist adds, \u201cI\u2019m happy I found a good guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”http:\/\/vogue.com\/article\/breezy-johnson-and-connor-watkins-olympics-engagement”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/698e37df5a8647c1883e0ff0\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/processed-309C3085-179B-48A2-BFB5-9A8C1CD2976F.jpeg”] Weddings Gold Medalist Breezy Johnson and Connor Watkins Share their Olympic Engagement Love Story By Shelby Wax February 12, 2026 Photo: Sierra Ryder\/U.S. Ski Team Olympic gold medal skier Breezy Johnson won white gold at the end of her 2026 Milano Cortina super-G race: an engagement ring from her partner, Connor Watkins. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,50],"class_list":["post-1792640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1792640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1792640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1792640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1792640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}