Jake Paul’s fiancee Jutta Leerdam will be in action at the Winter Olympics but it wasn’t always plain sailing for the Dutch star
Tom Victor Senior Sports Journalist
07:00, 07 Feb 2026
Jutta Leerdam showing off her engagement ring with her fiance Jake Paul(Image: juttaleerdam/Instagram)
Less than two months after influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul was last in action, it’s the turn of his fiancee Jutta Leerdam to take the sporting spotlight.
Paul, 29, was beaten by Anthony Joshua in Miami in December for just the second defeat of his career in the ring. Leerdam’s career as a speed skater presents a different kind of challenge, though, with the Dutch athlete about to embark on her second Olympic Games.
Leerdam already had more than two million Instagram followers when she headed to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. That number has since soared to five million but she insisted at the time she wanted to be known for her sporting career rather than her looks.
Jutta Leerdam has become a celebrity in recent times(Image: instagram.com/juttaleerdam/)
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“The last thing I want is being known as the girl from Instagram or the girl that looks a certain way,” Leerdam previously said. “I want to be known as the girl who is a world-class skater, and is a winner and doing a good job on Instagram.
“The other way round is something I don’t really want. Speed skating is my number one and Instagram number two.
“It sounds super-cliched but I think brains bring you more in life than looks, and you can have better conversations with people than when you’re pretty and dumb. And beauty fades anyway.”
Jutta Leerdam poses in a bikini(Image: juttaleerdam / Instagram)
It was on Instagram where the 27-year-old met Paul, with the pair going public with their relationship in 2023. They announced their engagement on the social network in March 2025, describing it as “The most magical day of our lives”.
Leerdam will compete in the women’s 500m and 1,000m at the 2026 Olympics, having won the silver medal in the longer distance in 2022.
However, she faced a nervous wait before her place was confirmed, having fallen in the qualifying campaign.
Jutta Leerdam competing in January 2026(Image: AP)
“Only nine Dutch women in total can qualify for the Games. I was one of the nine through my 500m. With one spot on the 1000m still available, the KNSB (the Royal Dutch Speed Skating Association) decided to add me to the 1000m!” she wrote on social media.
“What makes me happiest is that this decision doesn’t affect any other woman in the process. So grateful that everything worked out. Milan, here we come.”
Leerdam travelled to Milan by private jet(Image: juttaleerdam/Instagram)
Leerdam flew in on a personalised private jet, with Paul writing, “Time to shine” as he prepared to watch what both will hope is another medal run. Before his fiancee was given a late reprieve in the 1000m, the American – who was in attendance when Leerdam fell in qualifying – shared an impassioned message.
“I know this is her whole life,” he said at the time. “Her whole dream. And everything she’s worked so hard for. My heart is broken.”
Thankfully for both, she was given that extra place by the KNSB and will be able to compete in both events. The women’s 1000m event begins on Monday, with the 500m starting on February 14.
