Jesse Kortuem is an LGBTQ+ activist and American ice hockey player who became the most famous person in January 2026 after he publicly announced that he is gay. His announcement spread an uproar all around the world of sports since he attributed the popular hockey romance TV series Heated Rivalry to the fact that he was encouraged to gather his heart to live openly.
Although Kortuem did not play in the NHL, he had competed at a high level of hockey competitively over a long period and subsequently became a vocal supporter of the idea that masculinity can be included in a sport historically marked by narrow-minded views. His narrative has been covered by large media outlets and acclaimed because of its sincerity, emotionality, and cultural influence.
Jesse Kortuem Biography | |
|---|---|
| Real Name: | Jesse Kortuem |
| Birth Date: | 1990s |
| Age (as of 2025): | 30s |
| Birthplace: | Minnesota, USA |
| Height: | – |
| Wife: | – |
Early Life
Jesse Kortuem, currently in his 30s, grew up in Minnesota, a state that was highly experienced in ice hockey culture and is commonly known as the State of Hockey. Being the youngest of four brothers, he grew up in the sport, and hockey became a core of the family and his everyday life.
Similar to most young players in Minnesota, Kortuem started to compete in skating when he was a child and grew through the youth and high school levels of training. On the surface, his growth was akin to that of thousands of aspiring hockey stars whose ambitions were to make it to the top.
In private, though, Jesse Kortuem fought with his sexual identity all his life. He has talked about being caught between his love of the sport and his fear of coming out as a gay person and being out of place in a hyper-masculine hockey culture.
This internal struggle increased in his teenage years and eventually caused him to abandon organized hockey when he was 17 years old. He subsequently stated that the burden of secrecy around such an essential aspect of his personality became too heavy, and he had to make a decision between personal survival and sporting survival.
Jesse Kortuem Career
Although Jesse Kortuem stopped playing competitively in high school, he later came back to hockey in collegiate and adult leagues, where he played as a defenseman and a center. Although he did not make it to the NHL, he was involved in a level of playing that was considered extremely competitive, and he was still very much involved in the sport that he loved.
Year after year, however, he kept his sexuality a secret in the hockey arenas, fearful of being rejected by his teammates and coaches. In 2017, Kortuem played at an LGBTQIA+ hockey tournament at the Sin City Classic in Las Vegas, which became a turning point in his life.
Those lessons were the first time he was exposed to an affirming hockey climate and essentially changed the way he viewed what the sport could be. Although he had yet to emerge publicly during that time, he later attributed this moment to having made him remain tied to hockey instead of abandoning it altogether.
Jesse Kortuem has played in recent years on the Cutting Edges Hockey Club, an LGBTQIA+ hockey team in Vancouver. Playing openly in a queer-inclusive team enabled him to come to terms with his identity and find pleasure in competition again. That long personal experience culminated in his choice to eventually go public in January 2026.
The announcement made by Cortuem went viral when Cortuem clarified that viewing Heated Rivalry, a show that has been hailed as a respectful and affirming depiction of the queer hockey players, helped him to realize that he was not alone. The exposure of a positive LGBTQ+ representation in a hockey story made him brave enough to discuss his truth, which he had not done in many years.
Personal Life
By January 2026, Jesse Kortuem had not publicly announced dating someone romantically. He prefers to maintain his dating life confidential in interviews and in public statements, where he asserts that his coming-out was focused on self-acceptance and not romantic status. Kortuem has described how survival and authenticity overrode relationships in most of his life, and he has not provided any verified details about a current partner.
Social Media Presence
On the Instagram platform, Jesse Kortuem is active with the account name @pelotonjesse and has gained a following of about 11,000 people. His content is a mix of fitness, hockey, cycling, and personal thoughts, frequently focusing on mental health, authenticity, and self-acceptance.
Since his announcement of coming out, his social media accounts have turned into a place of support and communication, where thousands of fans, athletes, and allies share their support. His message was intensified by the media, such as Good Morning America, Out, Today, and The Advocate, and reached even more people than his social media.
Jesse Kortuem Net Worth
The net worth of Jesse Kortuem is not announced publicly, and no verified estimates are available. His earnings have not been as a result of large contracts and endorsement packages associated with playing in the elite leagues, as is the case with professional NHL athletes. It seems that non-professional hockey activity, fitness-related activities, and his personal pursuits beyond mainstream professional sports are the main determinants of his financial status.