The tale of
Madison Chock and Evan Bates reads like a romantic comedy come to life.
Girl meets boy. They date a bit as teenagers, then part company. A few years later, they reunite: first professionally, then as ever-closer friends, and finally as a couple. By the time the ending credits roll, they can't imagine life without each other.
The setting of the movie? Montreal, perhaps the most romantic city in North America, with its endless parks bordered by the Lachine Canal — perfect for lovers' strolls, al fresco picnics and frolicking with dogs. When evening comes around, there's tête-à-tête dining, using ingredients bought from one of the city's many farmers' markets.
"Well, you're not far off," Bates says, laughing. "We like to walk the dogs (two Maltese), and we're a few blocks from the canal. There's a really wonderful market called Atwater Market. ..."
"It's a 20-minute walk for us," Chock adds. "We'll take the dogs down to the market on the weekends and bring our groceries home, like baguettes, with flowers in tow. So yeah, you're not far off."
Serendipitous plot points keep piling up. There's their lovely apartment in the hot Saint-Henri neighborhood, which they lucked into via Kijiji, Canada's version of Craigslist, just before they relocated from Michigan in July 2018. A café with great coffee and a jazz trio on weekends is right down the street. Their Gadbois Centre training rink, where they share the ice with more than 20 other ice dance teams, is just five minutes away.
They're learning French for free via Duolingo, the popular mobile app, and are determined to become fluent.
"It's the perfect time to do it, because when else are you going to live in a French-speaking city?" Chock asks.
"We're improving, we're improving," Bates adds.
And, of course, they love their couple time.
"Cooking together, that's a big part of our day," Chock says. "Fish and chicken right now, and lots of vegetables. Evan makes an amazing coconut curry cod stew."
Sometimes, they can hardly believe their good fortune.
"We love living in Montreal, and especially being there for the whole summer has been so much fun," Chock says. "We have so many friends that are training mates, and we are living so close to the heart of the city, we've made a lot of new friends this summer. It's nice to be developing our personal lives as well as our professional lives, and now I feel like they're more balanced. There's just a good feeling and wholeness to our lives now."
They turn to smile at each other, something they do often during the course of the interview.
"It feels like we're starting our lives together, away from home for the first time," Bates says. "And just so lucky to be in a city like Montreal, (with) the group of people and friends we have. It's super amazing."
Read the full story in the November issue of SKATING Magazine.
