Nicolás Keenan reveals how Rob Jetten first slid into his DMs and the Instagram comment he made future Dutch PM delete
Although Keenan felt he could trust Jetten not to disclose his sexuality, there were moments when his discretion got the better of him
By Aaron Sugg
Olympic hockey player Nicolás Keenan has recalled how his relationship with his fiancé, Rob Jetten, began when the Dutch politician slid into his Instagram DMs before Keenan was out as bisexual.
Keenan and Jetten met several times in local supermarkets and coffee shops before officially dating in 2020 and announcing their engagement at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
After bumping into one another several times, Jetten made his move, sending the Argentine hockey player a message via social media. slid into his Instagram DMs
“It was a connection at first sight” – Nicolás Keenan on his relationship with Rob Jetten
“It was a connection at first sight,” Keenan told the Daily Mail. “We connected, and suddenly I had someone that could just talk, talk, talk [for hours].”
The two men met in The Hague, where Keenan has played for top-flight club HC Klein Zwitserland since 2017, and where Jetten has served as a member of the Dutch parliament.
However, as Keenan admitted, it was not always smooth sailing. He publicly came out as bisexual in 2023 after competing in his first Olympics in Tokyo 2020.
He said that although he felt he could trust Jetten not to disclose his sexuality, there were moments when his discretion got the better of him.
“[I] felt immediately super bad” – Keenan on asking Jetten to delete his public comment to his Instagram
The politician left a comment under an Instagram post by Keenan after a successful hockey game to show his support, but the Olympic athlete demanded he remove it.
Now, as an out and proud queer athlete, he regrets his decision: “[I] felt immediately super bad,” he said, recalling Jetten becoming disheartened by the secrecy surrounding their relationship.
It was only when the 34-year-old politician, who has been openly gay since a young age, asked him to meet for breakfast in their local town that they were caught by friends.
“Saying it out loud, it sounds even worse” – Keenan recalling pretending not to know Jetten in public
Playing it cool and detaching himself from Jetten, Keenan recalled: “I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know, whatever.’ And then he kept on walking and I met him at his place again. And now saying it out loud, it sounds even worse.”
The encounter prompted the pair to discuss the future of their relationship, causing a brief pause in communication. The distance only made Keenan’s heart grow fonder, and he eventually knew he was ready to come out.
The pair posted a photo of themselves on Jetten’s Instagram story, cuddled up on the sofa, and the rest is history. “It’s the kind of love I didn’t experience before,” he said.
Jetten is poised to become the Netherlands’ youngest and first openly gay prime minister, leading his party, Democrats 66, to a major win in the recent Dutch election.
The handsome couple are reportedly planning a wedding in summer 2026, and with Jetten set to become prime minister, Keenan is in line to become the country’s first spouse.
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