“He is emotionally ready”: Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud shares his thoughts about his character’s romance storyline with Robbie G.K.’s Kip

HBO Max's queer sports romance, Heated Rivalry, has quickly become popular due to the refreshing and passionate romance story depicted in it. Based on Rachel Reid's novel series, the Canadian series follows the love story of Shane and Ilya, two rival ice hockey players. The first two episodes introduced their steamy love story, leaving viewers hooked.

However, it is the latest episode that has captured everyone's attention. Episode 3 depicts another romance involving Scott Hunter, the captain of the New York Admirals, played by François Arnaud. Scott has not revealed his s*xuality yet, and therefore, his whirlwind romance with Kip (Robbie G.K.) escalated so quickly that they even moved in together.

While talking to Deadline about the romance, François Arnaud talked about the romance and stated:

"It’s cute, but I think he just goes along with it because he is emotionally ready for that."

More on this in our story.

Heated Rivalry star François Arnaud talks about Scott's romance and more

In Episode 3 of Heated Rivalry, Arnaud's character Scott Hunter meets Kip, played by Robbie G.K., in a smoothie shop where he works. The chemistry between the two characters was palpable. Hence, there was no doubt their relationship would have turned into more. However, it was a big move for Scott, who was still closeted but couldn't deny the effect Kip had on him.

Therefore, Scott ended up going again to the shop to meet Kip, and they both ended up going on a date. However, the most surprising thing about the episode was not Scott opening up to Kip but how they both moved in together after just one date.

While talking to Deadline, François Arnaud shared that while it was cute, it was also something that his character had to do as he was "tired of pretending." To add to his previous comment, the Canadian actor said:

"He can’t do it anymore. It’s making him sick, it’s killing him, and making him a bad player. So, everything he sacrificed for hockey actually ends up costing him."

In Heated Rivalry, Scott is shown to keep a lot of his true self hidden to protect his family-like team. Scott has been hiding one of the crucial parts of his identity for a long time, and with Kip, he got an opportunity to process this new feeling and stop pretending. In the interview, he also talked about this feeling and how he thinks that living life without hiding yourself might be the only way to a happy life. He shared:

"I think I’ve seen that in other fields of work. I think I’ve seen it in movie stars, I’ve seen it happen. I think that to be good and happy in what you do, you kind of have to ultimately live authentically, whatever that means. And I think Scott is just in the process of figuring that out."

While the meet-cute romance was the highlight of Episode 3 of Heated Rivalry, it doesn't end well for the couple, as Scott was still figuring things out and was closeted. This affected his relationship with Kip, who moved out of his house at the end of the episode.

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Also Read: Heated Rivalry Episode 4: Release date news, time, streaming details and more

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