For days, Ilia Malinin found himself at the center of a storm he never asked for. The 21-year-old saw his team’s gold medal glory at the Milano Cortina Olympics overshadowed by a whirlwind of unverified cheating rumors that consumed social media. However, after all the drama, former Canadian figure skater Nam Nguyen stepped forward with a written apology.

“Hi everyone, it’s Nam. I know the last few days have been chaotic. I take full responsibility for everything you’ve seen on X the last few days (my comments and immature reposts), and that video was unfortunate to our relationship,” the 27-year-old wrote on X.

“What Gracie and I have between us is private, and I broke that bond by not being my best self. I apologize to everyone, mistakes were made, and lessons are learned. If there’s anything to take from this, I ask that you guys please lay off of Gracie. She’s been through enough, and any personal attacks against her are unacceptable. Sorry to all I that I have disappointed.”

The apology effectively silenced the most damaging thread of the rumor mill. But what really took place?

Speculations arose when a grainy video of Ilia Malinin dancing with a blonde woman at a club spiraled into a complex web of accusations involving some of the sport’s most recognizable names. The drama reached a fever pitch when anonymous posts from a burner account on X began pointing fingers.

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Social media users quickly traced the account back to Nguyen, and the alleged woman was apparently his girlfriend, the two-time U.S. champion Gracie Gold. The posts claimed that the 30-year-old was spending time with Malinin, igniting an entire debate online. And this turmoil dragged in South Korean skater Lee Hae-in and even made Amber Glenn confirm on TikTok that she was not the woman in the clip.

So, following this entire controversy, the relationship status of Nguyen and Gold remains unknown. However, Malinin has other things to focus on, as the season isn’t over yet for the American figure skater.

More performances ahead for Ilia Malinin

That eighth-place finish in the men’s single skating broke millions of American hearts, who considered Ilia Malinin the competition favorite. His frustration was also evident following the results, as he rushed towards his coaches, saying, “They would have sent me to Beijing four years ago, then I wouldn’t have skated like that. It’s done.”

However, after settling down for a while, Malinin accepted the errors he made in his performance.

“I blew it. That’s honestly the first thing that came to my mind: ‘there’s no way that just happened’. I was preparing the whole season, you know,” he remarked.

Now, with the focus shifting towards the rest of the campaign, Malinin’s new challenges were already revealed. Art on Ice, the live ice show in Switzerland, will see the American skater in the Zurich edition. However, there’s a certain twist.

His setlist includes

Rather Be by Jess Glynne and Pink Lemonade by James Bay, as Malinin is going for a fresh look after the Milan Olympics. So, with these rumors now behind him, the 21-year-old can easily focus on his goals.