The American television drama Heated Rivalry – about two male professional ice hockey players in a secret relationship – has become the first viral show of 2026.
For most viewers, it is entertainment to be talked about at work or online. For Jesse Kortuem, it hit deeper.
Born, raised and still living in Minneapolis, he grew up with skates on his feet and loved ice hockey – but stepped away from the sport at 17 as he felt he would not be accepted because of his sexuality.
More than two decades later, watching Heated Rivalry inspired Kortuem to come out as gay, believing it shows attitudes within the sport have shifted for the better.
His Instagram post has since gone viral, leading to a “very surreal” start to the year.
“I’m just so grateful for where my life has ended up,” he tells BBC Sport. “To finally have that relief… to bring 110% of myself into the locker room. Something was speaking to me through the show – I had to let something out.
“Then that release was shared with the entire world. For the first couple of days, it was shocking, but now it is humbling – people have reached out to say it inspired them to have the conversation with their parents. I’m honestly speechless.”
Kortuem played ice hockey in local leagues in Minneapolis during his teenage years, and occasionally dipped back into the amateur game as an adult.
It was not until he joined Cutting Edges, an LGBT-inclusive team who play across North America, in 2017 that he re-engaged with the sport – and it was only this year that he felt comfortable to be open about his sexuality with the wider hockey community.
Now 40, Kortuem says he had to “edit” himself in hockey – and life – to fit in.
But seeing the show, in which two athletes enter a loving relationship, stirred repressed feelings.
“I had to hide, and looking back now it was tough,” he says. “It was still a place of comfort, but a place I had to edit myself.
“It was time to put a real face to what this story has done for athletes, to get it out there. And it took off!”
