Lindsey Vonn hard-launches relationship with French ski racer Matthieu Bailet

Instagram debut

Lindsey Vonn publicly confirmed her romance with French alpine ski racer Matthieu Bailet in an Instagram carousel posted on Wednesday, September 23. The Olympic ski champion, 41, captioned the photos "About that time for a summer recap… pt 1," followed by a red heart emoji. The post included images of the couple kissing in a swimming pool and lounging together in the sea during summer 2026, marking Vonn's first public acknowledgment of the relationship.

About Matthieu Bailet

Bailet, 30, is from Nice, France, and has competed on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup every year since his 2016 debut at age 19. He reshared Vonn's post to his own Instagram Stories, setting it to Olivia Dean's "So Easy (To Fall in Love)." In the comments, he wrote, "Can't wait to see the summer recap part 2," alongside winking and kissing emojis.

Celebrity reaction

The post drew enthusiastic responses from fellow athletes and celebrities. Tennis player Sloane Stephens wrote "HARD LAUNCH!!!!!!!," while Caroline Wozniacki commented, "Look at you insta official!! miss you!!" Rugby player Ilona Maher added, "The award for the hottest couple goes to…," and actress Nina Dobrev and model Brooks Nader responded with heart-face emojis.

Recovery context

The relationship reveal comes as Vonn continues to recover from a crash during the women's downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. She crashed 13 seconds into the event, suffered a complex tibia fracture, and was airlifted to a hospital; she had also torn her ACL one week earlier. Speaking to TNT Sports at the US Open in August, Vonn said she was hoping to have ACL surgery in November, followed by roughly nine more months of rehabilitation, and described walking as "still really hard."

Next milestone

Vonn has indicated she is targeting ACL surgery in November 2026, with an estimated nine-month recovery thereafter.