Olympic figure skater Laurence Fournier Beaudry is opening up about her former skating partner and boyfriend Nikolaj Sorensen’s sexual assault allegations.
In the first episode of the Netflix docuseries, Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing, released on Sunday, February 1, Fournier Beaudry, 33, discusses the impact of the allegations.
“I never really publicly discuss about how much damage it’s created,” Fournier Beaudry said in the doc. “I don’t even want to go back to what I’ve felt in those moments because I thought I was so strong, and I really thought I could handle everything.”
She continued, “Just felt like collateral damage.”
In October 2024, Sorensen, 36, received a six-year ban from the sport for alleged sexual maltreatment. The suspension came from Canada’s Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (an office that is now defunct) after an investigation of an allegation that Sorensen sexually assaulted an American figure skating coach and former skater in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2012.
According to a 2024 report from USA Today, the figure skating coach, then 22, claimed Sorensen, 23 at the time, held her down against her will on a bed after a party.
Sorensen has denied the allegation, which has not been tested in court. Fournier Beaudry has defended Sorensen since the 2024 report.
France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron Ian HODGSON / AFP
“When they decided to suspend him, it meant that his career was over, which also meant that my career was over,” said Fournier Beaudry in the docuseries.
She continued, “This was extremely difficult because it was not only about skating, it was about my integrity, it was about his integrity. I know my boyfriend 100 percent. I know him. And we [stood] strong together.”
Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen skated together for 13 years and have been dating for 12 years, she said in the series. The duo skated together at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing (two years before Sorensen’s suspension) and won a national title in 2023.
“The plan was to continue my career with Nik and go to Milan Cortina and enjoy our last season together,” she said. “But that’s not what happened. Everything that I’ve lived for the past year and a half has been a roller-coaster.”
In the wake of Sorensen’s suspension, Fournier Beaudry has teamed up with French skater, Guillaume Cizeron, who’s had his own fair share of controversy leading up to the Olympic Games.
After his former partner, Gabriella Papadakis, described him in her memoir as “controlling, demanding” and “critical,” Cizeron responded by calling the book a “smear campaign.”
“In the face of this smear campaign, I want to express my incomprehension and disagreement with the labels attributed to me,” he said to French media. “The book contains false information, including statements I never made, which I consider serious. For more than 20 years, I have shown deep respect for Gabriella Papadakis, despite the gradual erosion of our bond, our relationship was built on equal collaboration and marked by success and mutual support.”
Cizeron added that he has instructed his lawyers to “put all parties involved on notice to immediately cease the dissemination of defamatory statements about me.”
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron won gold at the European Championships last week, with the highest total score this season, putting them as favorites to win the gold medal in Milan.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
