Taylor Swift has silenced the critics of Breezy Johnson’s engagement after the Team USA skier was proposed to at the finish line in Cortina on Thursday.
The Winter Olympic downhill champion, 30, will be leaving Italy with a ring to go with her gold medal after her longtime partner Connor Watkins popped the question following the women’s super-G final.
However, the proposal on the slopes of Cortina sparked controversy with the romantic moment coming after Johnson’s disappointing performance in the event, which saw her crash and fail to step onto the podium for a second time.
But pop sensation Swift, who celebrated an engagement of her own last August when her NFL beau Travis Kelce proposed, had nothing but warm wishes for the happy couple.
‘“Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me” CONGRATULATIONS!!!,’ The 14-time Grammy Award winner wrote in the comment section of Johnson’s Instagram post, referencing her own hit, The Alchemy, from her 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department.
‘I don’t know what’s better, Olympic gold or this comment. Sourdough engagement gift please???? would love to teach you to ski,’ Johnson replied.
Team USA skier Breezy Johnson (right) got engaged to her longtime partner Connor Watkins
Pop sensation Taylor Swift congratulated the newly-engaged couple on social media
The American athlete had shared a series of photos of the romantic moment, showing her new fiance down on one knee.
In one snap, Johnson showed off her new bling next to the ring box, which was inscribed with lyrics from Swift’s song, reading, ‘Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?’
Johnson wrote in the caption: ‘Hey guys… meet Connor! My ex boyfriend! And current fiancé!!! Thank you to everyone who made this moment possible. It was everything I ever dreamed of. Kind of like Connor!’
While the comment section was flooded with many congratulatory messages echoing Swift’s sweet felicitations, others took issue with the proposal as they claimed it detracted from Johnson’s athletic achievements.
One social media user posted on X: ‘I’m happy for Breezy Johnson but I have strong opinions about men hijacking a woman’s major milestones to propose. Just let HER have that moment dude! Now she’s on national tv talking about her relationship instead of her athleticism. Not cool.’
‘Only a narcissist would try to make your day about them,’ claimed another.
‘Terrible!! Let the woman have her Olympics. This is a red flag,’ fumed a third.
‘Romantic timing or massive pressure move? Proposing right after she crashes (even if she got up) feels like turning her vulnerable moment into a public spectacle,’ wrote a fourth. ‘ Congrats to them, but I’d hate the added spotlight when I’m already emotionally raw from a [Did Not Finish]. Thoughts?’
The singer commented on Johnson’s Instagram announcement post with her own song lyrics
Johnson revealed that the ring box was inscribed with lyrics from Swift’s ‘The Alchemy’
The 14-time Grammy winner became engaged to NFL star Travis Kelce last summer
Despite the online criticism, the proposal was perfect to the skier, who had revealed that the Winter Olympics was her dream setting to get engaged.
She admitted that she had a feeling he was going to propose after confessing that it was her ‘dream’ to get engaged at the Olympics, albeit after ideally capturing a gold medal.
‘I mean, that was my hope!’ she said, via NBC News. ‘But it’s definitely a lot more crazy with everything just happening all at once, and the reality of it is so different than the way you imagined, and so much better.’
The couple now plan to spend Thursday celebrating with family and friends in Cortina before heading to Livigno, the site of other Olympic competitions.
While she didn’t pick up a medal in the women’s super-G, Johnson joined Lindsey Vonn as the only American female to win the women’s downhill on Sunday after capturing her first ever Olympic gold.
She then missed out on the chance to land a second medal in the team combined event on Tuesday, before crashing out of the super-G on Thursday.
Back in 2022, Johnson came out as bisexual after posting on social media that she ‘wanted to be open about who I am.’
‘To those [LGBTQ+] people out there who feel a little different and want to see people like them at the top I am here to represent that we are out there, we are normal, and we can do whatever we want,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘To the trolls who want to hate, hate doesn’t beat love. To those who have no idea what I’m saying, head over to Google if ya want to know.’
