February 27 2026, 08:15 
A man wrote in to an Irish radio station with a heart-wrenching confession of love inspired by Heated Rivalry.
RTE Radio 1 host Brendan O’Connor read the emotional letter on air, which involved a man telling another man he still loves him 30 years after they last spoke. “I am a successful, reasonably wealthy married man with two adult children,” it began. “But sometimes I find myself lost in emotion.”
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He then described a love affair he began in his 20s with a member of an opposing Gaelic football team. “We met on the pitch on opposite sides, both determined to do the best for our teams,” he said, explaining that the man he’d come to love intentionally slipped during a game so he could score. They got drinks afterwards, and the man pointed to the spirits and asked what he would fancy.
He said he replied, “I fancy you actually.”
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“There was no look of surprise, no stand back, no blush,” the letter explained, adding, “And so began a two and a half year intimate relationship, which was great.”
“But remember the times we were in,” he qualified. “Just like in Heated Rivalry, we stayed distant except for an after-match drink with the teams and left separately to meet later.”
He called the relationship “the greatest friendship,” one in which the pair shared an undeniable closeness and connection.
“Then, after two and a half years of happiness, comfortable conversations, and intimacy, he disappeared from my life.”
“I have not seen or heard from him in all that time,” he said, “but guess what? I think about him every single day since. And I still love him, even though we never said it to each other.”
He said he missed his former lover’s company, “the company of a like-minded person,” he explained. He said he missed the hugs and “the firm embrace of a man,” as well as “the ability to be intimate in a way that is hard to express, regardless of the sex angle.”
He said, despite how many years have passed, he still wants to know what their “end game” would be.
He concluded by explaining why Heated Rivalry is so powerful and what viewers should glean from it.
“Ignore the sex,” he said. “See and feel the intimacy, listen to the dialogue. It’s short, but it’s intimate. Feel the pain of the characters as the relationship develops and feel the good pain which comes on the realization that the attraction that was there initially is now real love, concern, and a deep protective instinct. See the transition to the realization that they really love each other.”
He also said it should be a lesson for loved ones of LGBTQ+ people: “Know if your child or family member is in turmoil, you can understand and help them.”
He ended by emphasizing again how much he misses “the holding, the hugging, the love, the affection, and the understanding between us.”
“I still have difficulty 30 years later,” he said. “He could find me again; I’m confident of that. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but hope springs eternal.”
Video of O’Connor reading the letter has garnered thousands of likes and hundreds of comments.
Many expressed a similar sentiment, that the man’s story is “beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.”
“So brave,” one commenter wrote. “When children can grow up knowing in their hearts – and with their legal rights aligned – they can be who they are and love who they love, then they can grow into adults who are free. There are a thousand stories like this and we need to rewrite our world so everyone is free to love.”
Heated Rivalry has become a global sensation and has inspired many others, too. In January, gay hockey player Jesse Korteum shared his own coming out story after witnessing the show’s popularity.
“Lately, something has sparked in me,” he said. “Ok – yes credit to #HeatedRivalry.”
“This is my story,” he said. “It is not everyone’s story, but for what it is worth, I thought I would share because I want to speak to the athletes out there who are still in the closet or struggling to find their way. I want you to know that there is hope and you’re not alone. There is a life and a deep happiness waiting for you on your path. You will get through this, and it is going to be okay.”
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