Skier Gus Kenworthy achieved something far more symbolic at this year’s Olympics than any gold medal win. Though he came up short at Saturday’s men’s ski slopestyle final, he was greeted at the bottom of the hill by his boyfriend, Matthew Wilkas, where the two shared a comforting embrace and a brief peck on the lips caught on camera and broadcast live on NBC. Kenworthy made headlines coming into this Olympics as one of the first openly gay U.S. winter Olympians, alongside his new BFF Adam Rippon, after previously competing while still in the closet. (When Kenworthy broke his thumb shortly before the event, he joked that it meant he didn’t have to shake Mike Pence’s hand.)
After the moment aired, Kenworthy and Wilkas said they didn’t realize they were being filmed but recognize the history they now got to share with the rest of the world. “My childhood self would never have dreamed of seeing a gay kiss on TV at the Olympics but for the first time ever a kid watching at home CAN!†Kenworthy wrote on Instagram. Wilkas added, “It was the tiniest kiss in the world. I could’ve made out with him had I known.†As for the Rippon dating rumors, Kenworthy told People there’s always room for another set of lips in that kiss: “Maybe like a throuple? I don’t know, I mean I’m open to it. It’s 2018.â€