Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy has revealed that a brief, headline-making moment from his personal life closely mirrors a major storyline in ‘Heated Rivalry‘. In a new interview, the Olympic skier said his real-life experience felt so similar that he now describes Miley Cyrus as his own “Rose Landry.”
Kenworthy said the comparison only became clear years later, when he watched the show and realized how closely its fictional plot matched what he was living through before he came out publicly. And the resemblances left him stunned.
Gus Kenworthy Calls Miley Cyrus His Real-Life “Rose Landry”
Speaking to The New Yorker, Kenworthy said he noticed “insane parallels” between his life and the storyline in ‘Heated Rivalry‘. He pointed specifically to the plot in which hockey player Shane Hollander becomes publicly linked to a famous woman named Rose Landry while hiding his true sexuality.
That storyline closely reflected Kenworthy’s own situation in 2014, when he made headlines after winning silver at the Sochi Winter Olympics and openly named Miley Cyrus as his “dream date” and “celebrity crush.”
The two were briefly linked, and the attention placed Kenworthy firmly in the public eye at a time when he was still closeted. Kenworthy admitted that being associated with Cyrus felt like the relationship people expected him to have. He said she was successful, beautiful, and talented; exactly what a straight male athlete was “supposed” to want. But despite caring deeply for her, he knew the connection didn’t feel the same as being with a man.
The Secret Life Of Kenworthy Behind The Headlines
While the public focused on his link to Cyrus, Kenworthy was privately living a very different reality. He revealed that he was in a secret same-sex relationship with hidden meetings and hookups, closely resembling Shane Hollander’s clandestine romance with Ilya Rozanov on ‘Heated Rivalry‘. Kenworthy described that period as emotionally overwhelming.
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He said the situation felt surreal because he felt trapped in a lie he couldn’t sustain. Although he genuinely loved Cyrus, he recalled that he didn’t want to continue pretending or waking up feeling dishonest.
He also said he strongly related to another character on the show, Scott Hunter. Scott wants to come out but feels unable to because of external pressure and circumstances. Kenworthy said that struggle defined much of his life for years; he desperately wanted to love openly and stop hiding.
When Kenworthy came out publicly in 2015, Cyrus publicly supported him without hesitation. In an Instagram post, she praised his courage and said she had never been prouder to call him her friend. Despite being central to Kenworthy’s real-life comparison, Cyrus has not yet watched Heated Rivalry. Still, she recently said she would be open to contributing music to the show.
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