Japanese Olympic pairs figure skating champions Riku Miura and ?Ryuichi?Kihara, who won the hearts of many in a country where figure skating can top the news headlines, announced their engagement on Sunday, becoming partners off as well as on the ?ice.

“We’re engaged,” they posted on Instagram, with a ?photo of ?Kihara?kneeling on the ice to present ?Miura with the ring. “Through both the happy times and the difficult ones, we’ve shared so many moments together, supporting ?each other every step of the way.”

Known jointly as “Riku-Ryu,“?Miura, 24, ?and?Kihara, who turned 34 on Saturday, became the first Japanese pair to win Olympic gold ?in figure skating at the ?Milano Cortina Winter Games in February.

Known for smiling, laughing and hugging —?with?Kihara?sometimes ?carrying the 146-cm Miura onto and off the ice —??the couple have had their share of difficult and ?happy ?times from?teaming up in 2019 until?announcing their retirement from competitive skating in April.

They overcame years of obstacles, with?Kihara?battling recurring back injuries and Miura ?repeatedly competing with a chronically dislocated shoulder.

The fairy-tale peak was their Milan performance, built around the themes of combat, survival and triumph.

They slipped to fifth place in the short program after?an uncharacteristic error before ?coming ?back with a spellbinding free program that had?the ?crowd on its feet long before the final strains of ?the music from “Gladiator” died out.

They earned Olympic gold with a world-record score.?

Kihara, who said he “felt completely devastated” after the setback, immediately burst into tears —?in images ?replayed countless times on Japanese television.

Over time, the couple “became irreplaceable parts of each other’s lives,” they said in Sunday’s post, which had garnered more than 14,000 congratulatory messages within five hours.