Anna and Ronja are 'enemies' on the ice. They're also getting married.

There's a lot to say about the cult of Heated Rivalry. The hit hockey romance has provided a delectable mix of yearning, humour, and tasteful erotica (my favourite cocktail).

Above all, it has given us an addictive enemies to lovers relationship: two opposing hockey players who are sworn rivals on the ice, then lovers when the buzzer sounds? Excellent, give me 20 more seasons!

As it turns out, this fictional relationship may just be usurped by a real-life sports romance. And, yes, they also play hockey.

Watch: The official trailer for 'Heated Rivalry.' Post continues after video.

Real-life couple Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolanien are currently competing in the Professional Women's Hockey League.

The athletes, who are now engaged, met while playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League. They were then signed to separate teams: Kjellbin for the Toronto Sceptres, and Savolanien for the Ottawa Charge.

While Kjellbin and Savolanien hoped to be put on the same team, they consider themselves lucky to play "so close to each other."

"I was more nervous to see where she was ending up than where I ended up," Savolainen told the Ottawa Citizen in 2024.

"We're in the same country, at least, the same side of the world, so I'm super happy."

When announcing their engagement at the end of 2024, five years after dating, Savolanien wrote on Instagram that "words can't describe" how much she loves her fiancée.

On the ice, however, that sweet talk goes away.

"I'm usually the one who goes home as a winner," Savolainen told Ottawa Citizen. (Spoken like a true Ilya Rozanov).

"I don't care who's in front of me… if it's going to be her, I'm going to hit her… When you play, you just play. You don't really think about who's there. You're friends after. On the ice, she's my enemy. That's how it goes."

Now that's a heated rivalry.

Hockey players Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolaninen are dating in real life. Image: Instagram/@ronjasavolainen

The couple could potentially face off on the ice when they line up in separate teams at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy (starting February 6), with Kjellbin representing Sweden, and Savolainen playing for Finland.

This will be Kjellbin's first Olympics, while Savolainen won a bronze medal at the 2022 games for Finland.

The couple isn't slated to play against each other in the preliminary rounds, but they could face off for a medal. Fingers crossed.

Kjellbin and Savolainen are just two of 30 openly queer players in the PWHL.

Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolaninen. Image: Instagram/@ronjasavolainen

Similarly, in Australia, there are many female athletes (both past and present) who openly identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community; including but not limited to cricket's Elyse Villani, rugby's Shari Williams, and tennis's Sam Stosur.

Then there's the Matildas soccer team, who Pink News literally dubbed "one of the gayest teams" at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. At the time, 13 of 23 players openly identified as queer.

And if we're talking about romantic rivalries, the Matildas have too many to count.

From Sam Kerr and wife, former US footballer Kristie Mewis, Ellie Carpenter and wife, Dutch footballer Daniëlle van de Donk, Katrina Gorry and wife, Swedish footballer Clara Markstedt… I could go on.

Soccer players Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis are married. Image: Instagram/@samanthakerr20

Of course, when it comes to men's sport, with its history of hypermasculinity and homophobia, things are a different story.

For hockey in particular, there are no current players in the American league who are openly gay. However, in 2023, Australian athlete Davis Atkin became the first openly gay player to be selected for our men's hockey team, the Kookaburras, when he was 21 years old.

What's more, inspired by Heated Rivalry, retired American ice hockey player Jesse Kortuem came out as gay this January.

"For a long time, the rink did not feel like a place where I could be all of me. I felt I had to hide parts of myself for far too long," Kortuem wrote in a powerful Facebook post.

Growing up as an athlete, Kortuem said he "lived with a persistent fear".

"I wondered how I could be gay and still play such a tough and masculine sport… I did not think those two worlds could occupy the same person, let alone the same locker room."

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A post shared by Jesse Kortuem (@pelotonjesse)

The athlete worried that sharing his sexuality with his team, "would change everything in an instant… their opinion of me, could bring negative attention to the team with the 'gay player', so I never took the chance".

But in 2017, Korteum met fellow gay hockey players at a tournament and his "life has never been the same".

"It has been a long, vulnerable road to move past the closeted athlete persona (something I'm still working on today) and find actual peace."

In sharing his story, the former hockey player hopes to help other closeted athletes.

"There is a life and a deep happiness waiting for you on your path. You will get through this, and it is going to be okay."

When it comes to Australian sport, there have been athletes who have addressed their sexuality, post retirement.

In August 2025, former AFL player Mitch Brown came out as bisexual. The decision followed the suspension of player Izak Rankine, who used a homophobic slur during a match.

Speaking to The Daily Aus, Brown criticised the "hypermasculine culture" of the AFL.

Former AFL player Mitch Brown came out as bisexual in 2025. Image: Instagram/@mitchbrownie

"I remember two people having a conversation around how they would feel having a shower next to a gay man, and one of the players said, 'I'd rather be in a cage full of lions than have a shower next to a gay man'," Brown said.

The former athlete believes there are other closeted AFL players, and hopes his story makes them "feel seen," and leads to systemic change in the league.

As for Aussie athletes who have come out mid-career, the examples are few and far between.

Ian Roberts was Australia's first openly gay rugby league player, coming out at the height of his career in 1994.

The rugby player, who retired in 1998, was originally planning on coming out in 1990, but was dissuaded after seeing the negative response to UK soccer player Justin Fashanu, who revealed he was gay that same year.

"He was a hero to me. He took his life in 1998," Roberts told ESPN in 2021. 

But by 1994, the player was "sick and tired of having to deny [him]self." He revealed he was gay to a mixed response.

Three years later, when Roberts' coach, Tim Sheens, appointed him team captain, not everyone in Far North Queensland was as accepting of the decision.

"[Politician] Bob Katter said, before I went up there, that he wouldn't go to any Cowboys games while I was the captain," Roberts alleged.

Last year, while speaking to News Corp, Roberts said that, "the next male who comes out in a major contact sport… will become an absolute superstar".

Almost 30 years after Roberts came out, Aussie soccer player Josh Cavallo became the first openly gay footballer in the world to come out while still playing for Adelaide United.

Soccer player Josh Cavallo with his fiancé Leighton Morrell. Image: Instagram/@joshua.cavallo

"It's been a journey to get to this point in my life, but I couldn't be happier with my decision," Cavallo said in a video released by the club.

At the time, his coach, Carl Veart said he had "nothing but admiration and support for him, as do all the players and coaching staff."

A year later, in 2022, Australian basketball player Isaac Humphries also came out as gay in an emotional speech to his teammates.

"I decided that if I'm going to join a team, then I'm going to come out publicly and just make sure people know that you can live, and you don't have to hide just because you're an athlete," he said.

Despite these strides, many openly gay male athletes have criticised the ongoing prejudices in professional sport.

After Cavallo departed Adelaide United in May 2025, the soccer player claimed his decision to leave was influenced by homophobia.

"Decisions were made by people in power that blocked my opportunities, not because of my talent, but because of who I choose to love," he wrote on Instagram in January 2026.

Cavallo, who now plays for Stamford in the UK, went on to say that this alleged "prejudice" was "exactly the fear" he had about coming out.

"For the first time, I actually questioned if I should have kept my sexuality a secret… I felt things going backwards," Cavallo said, alleging that some of his teammates contributed to the culture.

"Not just on the pitch, but in the one place I thought was a safe space, and after seeing a group chat of teammates mocking a picture of me and my partner only added to this heartache."

Adelaide United's Chief Executive Nathan Kosmina has since denied Cavallo's claims, saying "it's… disappointing that this sort of accusation has been made so far down the track and nothing was raised with us at the time."

Basketballer Humphries has also addressed the homophobia within Australian sports culture, while at the same time commending his club for being so welcoming.

Basketballer Isaac Humphries came out as gay in 2022. Image: Instagram/@isaachumphries7

"When I became a pro basketball player, LGBTQ+ representation had rarely ever been there in top-tier male-dominated sports, where it's generally seen as a negative point of difference," he wrote for CNN in 2022.

"Anyone who's ever been in a locker room understands the sentiments that float around. There's the unintentional derogatory slang, and ridiculing anything with a gay connotation."

It was a trip to LA in 2021 that gave Humphries the LGBTQ+ representation he needed.

"For the first time in my life, I saw that people at the top of their game can be open and honest about who they are, and that came with a visceral and contagious happiness," he wrote.

"That's what I hope sports can become. I want it to be a place where anyone can strive to be amazing, without fearing backlash just for who you are."

Some sports leagues, however, have worse reputations than others.

Speaking to News Corp, retired rugby player Roberts claimed the NRL "haven't done enough" for the LGBTQ+ community since he came out. 

"They've been in a position of being able to change perceptions, particularly when I came out in 1994. They could have used that and really raised awareness of the LGBTQ+ issues that our community faces daily," he said.

"I feel like we've had this conversation now for nearly 30 years, about what the NRL can do. Sport is so powerful. We need our allies."

Since the release of Heated Rivalry, the two lead actors, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, have spoken about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in sport, with Williams telling Andy Cohen that he received messages of gratitude from closeted professional athletes.

"Those are the ones that really just hit you and go, 'Oh, so this is a fun show, and it's celebratory, but also sometimes it's just hitting people right in the nerves.'"

Feature Image: Getty