Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir Talk 'Traitors', the Winter Olympics and Nancy vs. Tonya (Exclusive) ...Saudi Arabia

This must be stressed up front: Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are passionate about their fashion. Every time they’re on TV—whether it’s the World Figure Skating Championships, the Kentucky Derby or the Summer Olympics closing ceremony—they bring a dazzling visual spectacle to their commentary. Heck, they even initially bonded in the NBC Studios over their matching Celine bags. 

But for their exclusive Parade cover story interview, they Zoom in together wearing . . . nondescript black sweaters?! 

“We are entertainers at times,” Lipinski says. “But the Johnny I know is—you know—on a bed having room service and he’s in sweats and a baseball cap.” Weir chimes in, “I mean, I’m sitting on a luggage rack right now with a pillow. This is us.” 

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. 

“From the moment we reconnected, it just felt so easy,” Lipinski says. “It was such a relief that I finally had a teammate and someone I could trust.” Weir agrees. “I never knew I could have a partner that I could live alongside and share all these experiences with," he adds. "It makes it so much more special to look over and know that we’re living out our dreams together.”

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. 

And starting February 6, the two will once again be commentating on all things figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Italy—airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Weir notes that the Americans are bringing in multiple reigning world champions, while Lipinski adds, “It’s going to be really exciting for the viewers.” 

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. 

They don’t spend all their time together, of course. In fact, the two live on opposite sides of the country: Lipinski is based in Los Angeles with her husband of eight years, director/producer Todd Kapostasy, and their 2-year-old daughter, Georgie; Weir resides just outside Philadelphia. Still, they’re both Pennsylvania natives, and Weir proudly adds that he and his best friend “love the Eagles!” 

Before grabbing the mics, Lipinski and Weir broke the ice with Parade.

NBC Sports

Parade: We’re talking a month before the Games. Have you started planning your wardrobe? 

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. 

So the answer is no?  

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.

In non-fashion news, can you share which skaters will be must-see? 

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.    

Related: 17 Athletes to Watch at the 2026 Winter Olympics—Including Lindsey Vonn’s Historic Return

Your sport can be infamously cut-throat. How did you establish such a genuine friendship? 

Weir: Many people will bond over their elementary school or what happened in college. Most skaters don't have those normal touchstones to rely on. We have skating and the good, the bad and the ugly of trying to be the best in such a competitive sport. It’s really hard coming up—especially when we did without social media that gives you easy access. And it's rare to find somebody that you just trust immediately. At this point, we're a decade in, and we've gone through a lot in front of the world. But we’re also there for each other in our private lives and are there for each other constantly. 

Lipinski: As cheesy as this sounds, it really feels like our friendship was meant to be. 

Barbara Nitke/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

People may not realize that you two never skated at the same time. Johnny, what do you remember about watching Tara win that gold medal? 

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.

Lipinski: It definitely still feels surreal. Sometimes I wake up now, and I'm like, “Wow, that happened.” I started skating when I was three, and I dedicated and sacrificed so much to become an Olympian and win the gold. But my whole life revolved around skating—that’s all there was for me in that moment. I didn't have a lot of other life experience. So there was a bit of that do-or-die mentality of I got to do this. I've got to win. This is my dream.

Where is the gold medal now? 

Lipinski: I've never kept it! It’s been at the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and other events. It’s on its own journey. But every once in a while, I cross paths with it. One of these days, I'll find a proper safe place to display it. The medal is very meaningful, but it's a material thing—whereas the entire moment and memory stays with me.

Do you miss getting on the ice and skating? 

Lipinski: It's enough for me to be happy being in the booth. I mean, I loved being on the ice. And there are moments where you want to be back out there and feel the wind in your hair and standing in front of a sold-out crowd ... but not for all that you have to put into it and the nerves and anxiety that go along with it. 

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. 

But few skaters go on to a successful commentating career. Is the secret key that you have to be a little bitchy and say what everyone on the couch is thinking? 

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. 

Photo by Jean Catuffe on Getty Images

Lipinski: We do all the notes, we do all the research. We love live television and the spontaneous moments of not knowing what we're going to say and not knowing how we're going to react. I think that makes us real and authentic.

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.

You had to fake it a little bit on The Traitors! In retrospect, was it a good strategy to not form an open alliance? 

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.

Lipinski: The plan was to keep our friendship on the down-low for as long as possible and hang in it together. 

Related: ‘The Traitors’ Faithful Had ‘First Ever Anxiety Attack’ on the Show

Were you secretly scheming off-camera? 

Weir: There is very little off-camera. The producers will separate you. Everything you see is when we got together. 

Was it a fun experience overall? 

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.

Photo by Peacock on Getty Images

Which other contestants really surprised you? 

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...

Lipinski: I knew Mark Ballas from Dancing with the Stars.

Weir: I knew Lisa Rinna’s face. I didn't know much about her.

Lipinski: I've never seen a Housewives show. So I had no idea about the lore of these women. So when I heard like, “Oh, she would do that,” like, really, I only knew them from the Scottish castle. But they were all so chill and cool.

Related: ‘Traitors’ Fans Think Lisa Rinna’s ‘Murder in Plain Sight’ Will Go Horribly Off Script

You two really don’t text each other about fun TV moments? 

Lipinski: We're not big reality TV people, but I watched Dancing with the Stars last season.

Weir: Back in the day, I liked The Simple Life with Paris [Hilton] and Nicole [Richie]. But I'm a big fan of sitting down and watching the things I've already seen before. So I love The Diplomat,Mama's Family and Game of Thrones. I don't need some more drama. 

Johnny, did you just say Mama's Family and Game of Thrones in the same sentence? 

Weir: Welcome to my world. 

Have you watched Heated Rivalry yet?

Lipinski: Not yet. I need to.  

Weir: I've heard it's sexy for lots of reasons. We’ll get into it. 

Let’s get your quick takes on classic ice-skating movies. Start with Blades of Glory.

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. 

The Cutting Edge?

Lipinski: A classic. 

Weir: Since then, I've always wanted a hockey husband. “Toe pick!”

Ice Castles?

Lipinski: Oh, I love Ice Castles.

Weir: “Lexi, the roses!” 

Ice Princess?

Lipinski: That was good. That was cute. 

Weir: That may have missed me. 

I, Tonya?

Lipinski:Margot Robbie was so good in that. My Olympics were four years after the Tonya [Harding] and Nancy [Kerrigan] thing. So it was interesting to see what happened in this really cinematic way with incredible actors portraying these skaters. I thought it was such a good, good movie. 

Weir: I'm friendly with Nancy, so I didn't want to support Tonya, so I didn’t see. 

Related: The 13 Most Unforgettable (and Controversial) Figure Skating Moments Ever

You seem to be on the same wavelength a lot. 

Lipinski: The friendship just runs deeper than a working relationship. We are soul mates, in a way. I feel like I could go for three weeks and not talk to him, and then pick up the phone and spill out all my secrets. 

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.

So tell us something about each other that isn’t common knowledge. 

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. 

Lipinski: When he's on TV and he's in his glitter and glam, people don’t realize there's so much more beneath the surface. 

Weir: But we both have a touch of OCD. And I do over-collect on niche fragrances. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity 

Next up, Icy Twists! USA Figure Skating Reveals 2026 Olympic Rosters for Milan-Cortina

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