Breaking Down the 2026 Winter Olympics French Ice Dancing Drama

If you’re not into professional ice skating, the drama surrounding a French couple, on the ice, that is, just might be enough to pull you in. By now, you’ve probably heard the names Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. That’s because they’re competing together in the 2026 Winter Olympics, even though they only paired up in 2025.

They’ve known each other for nearly 15 years and have become very close friends over that time. But it’s not their friendship that’s put these highly skilled ice skaters at the center of controversy in February 2026. It’s their past partners, and maybe the underlying reason they decided to team up in the first place. Here’s the scoop on the French ice dancer drama everyone is talking about.

People are calling professional French ice dancers Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier-Beaudry, who competed together in the 2026 Winter Olympics, “evil,” even though they delivered a killer performance on the ice. Here’s why.

Before these two paired up in 2025, Guillaume was skating with Gabriella Papadakis. They had been partners since childhood and even won two Olympic medals in 2018 and 2022. Needless to say, they were an impressive duo, achieving a number of records that will go down in figure skating history.

But in 2024, they retired as a pair after an alleged falling out, or as Guillaume called it, a “gradual erosion of our bond,” according to Cosmopolitan. Then, in mid-January 2026, Gabriella released a memoir titled Pour ne pas disparaître (So as Not to Disappear), in which she made shocking allegations against Guillaume, calling him “controlling” and “demanding.” He has since spoken out against the book, reportedly calling the whole thing a “smear campaign.”

Apparently, Gabriella was often afraid of him and would get very nervous around him when they were partnered together. Still, they remained partners for several years, until perhaps they simply couldn’t handle each other any longer.

After they went their separate ways, Guillaume resurfaced in January 2025 with a new partner, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry. But she comes with some pretty big baggage of her own.

It seems Guillaume partnered with Laurence not only because they had been close friends for about 15 years and she’s an incredibly talented figure skater, but maybe also because she couldn’t perform with her previous partner, who is also her boyfriend, Nikolaj Sorensen.

Laurence and Nikolaj skated together for around 13 years, much like Guillaume and Gabriella, but unlike Guillaume and Gabriella, Laurence and Nikolaj are also romantic partners. In 2024, however, they went their separate ways professionally because Nikolaj was banned from the sport for at least six years, according to documents obtained by USA Today Sports.

Nikolaj had been accused of sexually assaulting an American figure skater back in 2012, and the investigations and allegations ultimately led to his ban.

That left Laurence without a skating partner until Guillaume stepped in. A friend and very skilled skater, Guillaume provided her with a way to continue competing. It seems they teamed up to keep pursuing the sport without letting personal drama interfere.

But fans aren’t happy about it. For starters, people don’t like that Gabriella was removed as a commentator for the 2026 Winter Olympics just after releasing her memoir. Add to that the fact that Laurence continues to support her boyfriend despite his sexual assault accusations, coupled with Gabriella’s allegations against Guillaume, and it’s clear why people are calling this entire pairing controversial.