But for their exclusive Parade cover story interview, they Zoom in together wearing . . . nondescript black sweaters?!
Indeed, it’s no surprise to see the pair keeping it real and beaming in each other’s presence. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in early January in a St. Louis hotel room (where they’re broadcasting the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships), Lipinski and Weir are former star solo skaters who have become an enthusiastic and knowledgeable duo—both onscreen and off.
The Brutal Reality Behind Olympic Gold Medal with Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski (4:39)
Lipinski, 43, and Weir, 41, have traded the commentary booth for the castle—appearing not as co-hosts, but as competitors in Season 4 of the Emmy-winning reality series The Traitors (now streaming on Peacock). Playing alongside the likes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna and former BachelorColton Underwood, the two decided early on to not advertise their closeness. “Alliances in the past have never really lasted a long time,” Lipinski explains.
Back in the day, they both brought tremendous excitement to the sport’s biggest stage. At just 15 years old, Lipinski shocked the world by winning the gold medal at the 1998 Games, while Weir is a two-time Olympian who delivered dramatic performances at the Games in 2006 (he placed fifth) and 2010 (he placed sixth). Eventually, they traded their skates for headsets and worked as individual commentators before reconnecting at NBC and teaming up for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. “We asked NBC if we could audition together,” says Lipinski. They’ve been attached ever since.
Before grabbing the mics, Lipinski and Weir broke the ice with Parade.
NBC Sports
Johnny Weir: Well, we're both such huge fans of fashion, I don't think we ever really stop shopping and looking at things and seeing how they might fit into our future. And for us, the clothes and the hair are just such a fun way of performing. That's what we've grown up doing as athletes, as show people, and the clothes and the hair accentuate the story that we want to tell. And it's the Olympics—we have to dress up.
Weir: We constantly think about it. But the funniest thing is, we don't even purposely try to match. We show up with almost everything in our wardrobes, and we throw it together there. It's more fun when it's more spontaneous.
Tara Lipinski: Multiple gold medals are on the line for the Americans. You have ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and they're the favorites. And Ilia Malinin is definitely the favorite for the men’s event. If you're going to tune into one event and one four-minute program, let it be Ilia, just because what he does on the ice is mind-blowing.
Your sport can be infamously cut-throat. How did you establish such a genuine friendship?
Lipinski: As cheesy as this sounds, it really feels like our friendship was meant to be.
Lipinski and Weir during a 2021 appearance on Project RunwayBarbara Nitke/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Weir: I'd only started skating two years before she won the Olympics, and I remember curling up with my family and just marveling at this 15-year-old woman completely capturing the entire world and bottling all of that into this very singular moment. She inspired millions of people.
Where is the gold medal now?
Do you miss getting on the ice and skating?
Weir: When I met Tara, it was right after my Olympic career ended. I was having a very nice, successful career touring the world and skating to sold-out crowds. I remember her telling me, “When you know it's over, it's over.” And there was one night—I was practicing all by myself at 1 a.m.—and I fell on a very simple move. I was like, “You know what, girl, it's time, time to hang it up.” It's a very difficult sport, and it does favor youth over being a “Skateosaurus.” I chose to leave the sport and performing when it was on my terms. But the memories are enough to sustain me.
Weir: No, no. We took our sport very seriously as athletes, and we take it very seriously as commentators. We want to help people understand our world and what they're watching, and to hopefully inspire them. We sleep very little because we're up so late studying every single skater. Our voices help people understand who these people are. Definitely being a little bit sassy and being a little bit fun is who we are, and that's part of being a performer. You also have to be prepared.
The pair is pictured at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.Photo by Jean Catuffe on Getty Images
Weir: We want you to feel like you're sitting on the couch with us because we both grew up pretty humbly, and we both grew up without a normal education, and we always joke we weren't socialized properly. So we don't put on airs. Everything that we've earned in this life, we've earned through hard work and dedication. We don't have to fake it.
Weir: We can't tell you if it proved to be a good strategy or not! But we were fans of the show, and in watching old seasons, we noticed that one of the things that could have hindered us was a very clear alliance. The other contestants weren’t necessarily in our demographic, so we didn’t know if they knew who we were and how close we were. So we played it cool.
Related: ‘The Traitors’ Faithful Had ‘First Ever Anxiety Attack’ on the Show
Weir: There is very little off-camera. The producers will separate you. Everything you see is when we got together.
Lipinski: It was the coolest thing. I mean, we have PTSD from being in that Scottish castle together! But we went through a unique experience—like everyone else in that castle went there alone, and we got to go there knowing that our best friend was there. I don't think I would have done it without him.
Lipinski and Weir—both pictured in black and white on the bottom step—during Season 4 of The TraitorsPhoto by Peacock on Getty Images
Weir: I never know who anyone is. I don't really follow pop culture celebrity gossip. So when we arrived, I obviously knew Tara and...
Weir: I knew Lisa Rinna’s face. I didn't know much about her.
Related: ‘Traitors’ Fans Think Lisa Rinna’s ‘Murder in Plain Sight’ Will Go Horribly Off Script
Lipinski: We're not big reality TV people, but I watched Dancing with the Stars last season.
Johnny, did you just say Mama's Family and Game of Thrones in the same sentence?
Have you watched Heated Rivalry yet?
Weir: I've heard it's sexy for lots of reasons. We’ll get into it.
Weir: The [producers] called me before that movie and told me they were going to make fun of me. Jon Heder was in a peacock costume because I was a swan in my first Olympics. I was like, “Go for it. Have fun. Make all the fun.” So I'm down. I love Will Ferrell.
Lipinski: A classic.
Ice Castles?
Weir: “Lexi, the roses!”
Lipinski: That was good. That was cute.
I, Tonya?
Weir: I'm friendly with Nancy, so I didn't want to support Tonya, so I didn’t see.
You seem to be on the same wavelength a lot.
Weir: She can be like “OK, I gotta go. Georgie is doing something.” And then, like, six days later we pick up our conversation exactly where we left off. We're on the same wavelength constantly.
Weir: I don’t think people realize that we are very down-to-earth people because of the way we were raised. Our families sacrificed a lot for us. And sometimes my clothes kind of take on a life of their own, and people don’t see the person inside. And I think Tara is in a similar situation. She is an incredible mother. She worked long and hard to become a mother. Every hardship that we face, we're doing it together.
Weir: But we both have a touch of OCD. And I do over-collect on niche fragrances.
Next up, Icy Twists! USA Figure Skating Reveals 2026 Olympic Rosters for Milan-Cortina
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