Similar to their fictional counterparts, the Heated Rivalry cast has found love in their personal lives.
Based on Rachel Reid‘s Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry follows two rival professional hockey players, Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), whose animosity on the ice is just a front for a secret — and very passionate — romance.
The show premiered on Canadian streaming service Crave in November 2025 before becoming available to an even wider audience through HBO Max. Shortly after the first few episodes were released, book fans took to social media to show their support for the adaptation — specifically when it came to the chemistry between Storrie and Williams.
“We’re both pretty tactile people in terms of love languages and how you express yourself,” Storrie told Swooon at the time. “We both like physical touch, whether it’s with friends, family, partners.”
He continued: “When these characters are feeling good towards each other, I think we knew consciously to allow that to come out. The fun of that ends up being what it looks like [for Shane and Ilya], and how it is different from us, personally. That’s an impulse that is kind of naturally within us. We also became super close, super quick, so that makes it even easier, too.”
As the show blew up, Storrie and Williams started to speak up more about the overwhelming focus on their onscreen romance — and their personal lives. Creator Jacob Tierney even had to shut down a question after being asked about Storrie and Williams’ sexualities off screen.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to get into that stuff,” Tierney told LGBTQ+ magazine Xtra in December 2025 when asked about the relevance of Williams and Storrie’s personal lives. “I’ll tell you something about the casting of both of these roles. You can’t ask questions like that when you’re casting, right? It’s actually against the law. So what you have to gauge is somebody’s enthusiasm and willingness to do the work.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about the Heated Rivalry cast and their respective love lives:
Hudson Williams
Williams, who plays Shane, is dating tattoo artist Katelyn Larson.
Connor Storrie
Storrie, who has portrayed Ilya since season 1, has kept the details of his private life out of the spotlight.
Sophie Nélisse
Nélisse, who plays Rose, was previously linked to Maxime Gibeault and Clovis Henrard. She also sparked romance rumors with Phil Carpentier.
Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova
Kharlamova, who portrays Svetlana, has not posted a partner on social media, so her relationship status has remained unclear.
François Arnaud
Arnaud, who is openly bisexual, dated Evelyne Brochu from 2012 to 2014. He was linked to Marc Bendavid before booking the role of Scott.
Robbie G.K.
The actor, who portrays Kip, hasn’t spoken about his personal life and appears to be single.
