Sometimes, a totally normal moment between a couple is enough to warm your heart and make you believe in queer joy again.
Prime Minister Rob Jetten went viral earlier this year when the liberal Dutch leader became the first out gay politician to hold the position in the Netherlands —and he did it with his fiancé, Argentinian field hockey player Nicolás Keenan, by his side. Now, the two have the LGBTQ+ community cheering for them once again after Keenan walked over to get a kiss from Jetten at the FIH Hockey World Cup.
The sweet moment, caught on camera and posted on Instagram by the Royal Dutch Hockey Association, shows Keenan walking over to the stands where Jetten is cheering him on while wearing his fiancé’s jersey. The two men reach over the divider to hug, and Jetten plants a kiss on Keenan’s cheek.
The kiss between the couple happened after Keenan and his teammates won a match against Japan 3-0. The tournament kicked off on August 15 and will run until August 30.
Keenan posted the video on his TikTok account, and both he and Jetten reposted the clip on their respective Instagram Stories, with Jetten congratulating his partner with the caption, “The first win for Argentina. Proud of @nicokeenan.”
For a straight couple, this moment might be unremarkable, but with the queer community constantly under attack in the United States and sports in particular becoming a hotbed of Republican hatred, it’s beautiful to watch a gay athlete and a politician embrace each other so openly.
It's also especially poignant considering Keenan admitted that when he went to the Olympics, he was forced to hide his relationship with Jetten because he was a closeted athlete at the time.
After sparks flew at a supermarket in 2022, Jetten and Keenan began dating and got engaged in 2024. Keenan will become the Netherlands' first gentleman when they walk down the aisle, which is rumored to happen later this summer.
This is far from the first time a gay athlete has made headlines for kissing their partner on the sideline — soccer stars Abby Wambach and Sarah Huffman’s kiss went viral, as did Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe's after she won her second World Cup — and hopefully, it won’t be the last.
