“I understood it was hard for her to be around me; she always felt we were being compared. I saw a lot of dissatisfaction and negativity directed at me.” Cizeron on breaking up his partnership with Papadakis
Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron of France explained the breakup of his partnership with Gabriella Papadakis.
original source: L’Equipe / Sports
Guillaume Cizeron explained that growing emotional distance and differing values led to the end of his ice dance partnership with Gabriella Papadakis. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Guillaume Cizeron: For 20 years, I cared deeply for her (Gabriella). When someone close to you is struggling, you tend to forget about yourself. In recent years, she went through upheavals and several bouts of depression. All I could do was be there for her and empathize.
Q: How did this affect your daily life?
Guillaume Cizeron: She couldn’t train for long periods, and I did everything I could so she wouldn’t feel pressured because of it. Her health was the priority; everything else was secondary. Things were so fragile that we even wondered if we should continue training until the Games.
I wanted her to feel strong again and not see the Olympic title as the ultimate goal – whatever would be best for her life. But she said she wanted to continue and do whatever was necessary.
Together with the coaches, who showed her incredible kindness, we tried to ease the psychological burden as much as possible, to give her a chance to recover and maybe skate again. Emails, schedules, bills, music, costumes – I took care of all the logistics. But despite these efforts, I saw our relationship falling apart.
Q: How exactly?
Guillaume Cizeron: We grew further and further apart, and I realized we were living parallel lives. I understood it was hard for her to be around me; she always felt we were being compared.
I saw a lot of dissatisfaction and negativity directed at me. In a documentary filmed last year, some scenes really struck me. In it, she talks about being afraid of Romain (Haguenauer, coach) and me, and even gives us the middle finger. I tried not to pay attention, thinking it was silly, but I felt betrayed.
Her actions confirmed that we have different values and are going down different paths,” Cizeron said.
Papadakis previously announced a book titled “So as Not to Disappear,” which will be released on January 15 – a day before the start of the rhythm dance at the European Championships in Sheffield, where Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry will compete.
Related topics: Gabriella Papadakis, Guillaume Cizeron
so odd for him to say this just before she released her book
Here Cizeron says many personal and health privacy things that are not his to put public. Is not good, he should feel shame
First off, 20 years together, in pairs skating, is quite remarkable, 2nd, they were quite good, even to the end, 3rd, both are prospering, in their respective spheres, so, it seems that the split was good. I’m not denying issues, or dysfunction, in the relationships and coaching, yes, speak up, but, their career was quite remarkable all things aside. And best of luck to them