Jutta Leerdam’s ‘diva behaviour’ slammed as ‘Jake Paul rubs off on her’ at Winter Olympics

Jutta Leerdam is set to compete for a gold medal at the Winter Olympics on Sunday

Jutta Leerdam is aiming to win a second gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games but has been criticised for her behaviour during the Winter Olympics. The Dutch speed skater triumphed in the 1000m event earlier this week and is set to compete for the 500m title on Sunday.

The 27-year-old was seen crying soon after becoming an Olympic champion, and her fiance, Jake Paul, was also spotted tearing up in the crowd. Leerdam set an Olympic record by clocking 1:12.39 at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Leerdam is a seven-time world champion and previously claimed silver in the 1000m sprint at the 2022 Beijing Games. Despite securing a gold medal in Milan, her behaviour has been under scrutiny throughout the Winter Olympics.

She has been accused of alienating her teammates after sharing pictures on social media of herself travelling to the Milan Cortina Games on a private jet rather than with the Dutch team. Leerdam also chose to skip the opening ceremony, instead watching it on TV.

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Former footballer and TV pundit Johan Derksen took issue with Leerdam’s decision not to travel with her teammates. He said: “She’s already living like a millionaire, with private jets and everything. Her behaviour is horrible to me, like that of a diva. If I were her coach, I wouldn’t tolerate that.”

The speed skater is a high-profile figure with almost six million followers on Instagram. She began dating YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in 2023, and the couple got engaged in March 2025.

Leerdam also sealed a lucrative modelling deal with Kim Kardashian’s clothing brand SKIMS in November. However, it has been claimed that her newfound fame through her relationship with Paul has changed the Olympian’s behaviour.

A source told The Sun: “Ever since she began dating Jake, there is a feeling among many Dutch people that she thinks she is better than us.” The source added that before Leerdam met Paul, she was “a lot more humble” and that being with the American had ‘rubbed off on her’.

However, Leerdam showed her sporting side after winning Olympic gold. She comforted silver medalist and Dutch teammate Femke Kok, who had briefly set a new Olympic record earlier in the event.

Leerdam and Paul crossed paths after the social media star reached out to the skater to appear on his podcast in 2023. However, the multi-time world champion did not plan to be in a relationship with Paul, who most recently suffered a KO loss to Anthony Joshua in December.

“I never, ever expected to date him, like never,” she said during the Netflix documentary series Countdown: Paul vs Tyson in 2024. “Of course, I didn’t know a lot about him. I could only scroll on his Instagram and form an opinion like the whole world does.”

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