The ex-girlfriend of the Olympic medal winner who confessed to cheating on her during a post-event interview has spoken out about the situation.
Norwegian Winter Olympic biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid claimed the bronze in yesterday's biathlon event in Italy, but rather than celebrating his achievement, the 28-year-old used his post-event interview to get something off his chest.
The 28-year-old told NRK it was 'big' to win his first ever Olympic medal, but was more worried about the fact that his ex-girlfriend might not have seen it, later calling her the 'love of his life'.
Despite suggesting that she was his true 'gold medal' and that he only had eyes for her, he also suggested that he'd made a big mistake in cheating on her, and that's why they broke up.
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He said: "Six months ago, I met the love of my life and the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. And three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her."
Now, the mystery woman, who wants to remain anonymous, has given her response to Norwegian newspaper VG.
She said: "Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world, it's hard to forgive.
"I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it. We have had contact and he is aware of my opinions on this.'
She added that she wanted to express gratitude 'to my family and friends who have embraced me and supported me during this time. Also to everyone else who has thought of me and sympathized, without knowing who I am'.
After his comments went viral, the athlete was still holding out hope that he might get a reply from her, in what feels like an extreme version of double-texting someone in the hope that they might have missed your first 'hey you up?'
Laegreid later admitted during his press conference that he hasn't heard anything from the former love of his life, after he cheated on her after just three months of being together.
He said: “I haven’t got any reactions from the girl I mentioned. I am happy because maybe she has not seen it (oops) and maybe she will see it at the right time.
“I hope I don’t make it worse for her. Maybe it can help, I don’t know. We will see.”
After refusing to name the girl in question, Laegreid then added: “She’s probably still processing last week’s message, but I hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel for both of us."
Even though he's admitted that the interview was 'social suicide', especially since it's unlikely to help him with any other potential dates in the future, he seems committed to winning his old girlfriend back, even if she quite rightly doesn't want anything to do with him right now.
It was certainly a bold strategy, but on this occasion it doesn't seem to have paid off for him.
I can only imagine the chaos in the girls group chat right now...
Topics: Winter Olympics
James Moorhouse