Their competitive career behind them, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier signed a four-year contract to perform with the successful Stars on Ice tour, created by Scott Hamilton. The pair found professional skating to be very different from competitive skating. “As an amateur, you have two competitive programs. As a professional, it's a challenge every year to bring something new and innovative and creative. And with all the traveling, it's hard to get that done.” Although there were challenges, Jamie and David have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many different choreographers including Christopher Dean, Rene Rocha and Gorsha Sur, and Lori Nichol. Once known for their ability to draw the audience into their performances as competitive skaters, Salé and Pelletier have become crowd favorites as professional skaters.

The tour offers many wonderful opportunities, not the least of which being the chance to work with some of their favorite skaters. “It's absolutely awesome. We had such a wonderful competitive career - we got all the gold medals we dreamed of getting. Now being with Stars on Ice is like a dream come true for David and myself. We used to go to the shows and watch Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi, so it's really special for us now to be performing with them.” Jamie and David find that it is easy to develop close friendships with the other skaters on tour. “We get to know each other really well. You spend four or five months on the same bus, in the same rink, and you get to know each other. We've become friends." Included in the group of skaters Salé and Pelletier call friends, the Russian pair team with whom they shared the Olympic gold medal, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. In their first tour together, both pairs were featured in an ensemble number choreographed to the song “Sing, Sing, Sing.” In this program, they performed with Todd Eldridge who recited a poem about life and their journey together. “It’s fun for us because we got to know them. We didn’t know them very well when we were competing against each other. Anton is very funny person. Elena is very quiet, but she is starting to talk more. The program is beautiful, very powerful. It’s fun to skate together every night.”

As Salé and Pelletier have learned, the schedule when touring can be even more rigorous than amateur competition. “’The most obvious difference is that we're never home. We're extremely busy, we're having a lot of fun -- much more fun than staying at home all the time, because that would be boring, right Dave? But, we definitely have our moments of homesickness. It's quite exhausting, and the travel is very difficult.’ What helps them get through the moments of homesickness? ‘As soon as you step on the ice, it's like you forget you're homesick or you haven't slept in two days. Something happens to you as soon as you step on the ice. It’s so much fun. Why not do it as long as you can? It's such a good life."

When on tour, the skaters try to have fun while traveling. “On the bus, we like to play games. David has an Xbox. I bring my Shania Twain DVD on tour with me - I drive everyone crazy with that, but I love her. We try to golf in hot spots or we go to a movie if we have time.” Though they enjoy their time on the road, nothing is better than home. “’When we have a few days off to go home, the first thing is to get to our place as fast as possible,’ Pelletier says. ‘We want to go see if everything is all set and all right. Then, I will probably drive my car. I miss driving. It's good to be in control of where we are going and when. We will have dinner every night at our favorite restaurants because as you can imagine, there is not a lot in the fridge. We will visit with friends and family and we will try to sit on the couch and watch some Canadian TV. I will read the paper every morning and take my time to drink my coffee. Just thinking about it makes me smile!! I will try to fit in a hockey game on one of the many outside rink in Edmonton. But the best part of being home, is your bed. That, I try to enjoy as much as possible.’”

In addition to Stars on Ice, professional skating has brought other opportunities for Jamie Salé and David Pelletier. The pair have had the opportunity to compete in some made for television competitions including the Canadian Open, Ice Wars, and the World Team Challenge. They have been fortunate to receive many endorsements and they have their own style of figure skates with CCM. Both golfers, Jamie and David have been invited to participate in celebrity golf tournaments in which they have the opportunity to raise money for various charities. “They have met many famous people, however Salé and Pelletier agree that the celebrity life isn't for them. ‘You meet people like that and it's fun, but it lasts a couple minutes and it's just small talk and superficial,’ Pelletier said. ‘You know they won't remember your name. It's fun it happens so you can brag about it afterward. Then you realize it doesn't make a difference in your life. The most cool thing since the Olympics is that I have the same friends from before. So I know I haven't changed much. That's what's cool, not meeting Mick Jagger or anyone else.’"

Personal Partnership

What began as a skating partnership has developed into a personal partnership off the ice. "’We've been very private about our relationship only because it's very special to us,’ said Salé. ‘We spend so much time together that, although we've only been a couple for five years, it sometimes feels like 10 because we're together 24-7, while most couples are only together a few hours a day.’” A unique challenge, their relationship has grown stronger in the years they have been together. "We've been through so much together. We are very supportive of one another. We respect each other's space and time. That's what it really is all about. That hasn't come overnight. We even broke up for a month and a half while we were on tour last year because we felt we needed some space. We've become stronger and stronger every year in terms of communicating and respect and knowing what it is to be in love with someone." Though the try to maintain some privacy in their personal lives, Jamie and David have shared some insights into their lives together. “’He's very romantic,’ she confides. ‘It's not about the big things, it's about the little things, like he'll go for coffee and bring me home my favourite latte.’ And the housework? ‘He cleans the floors, vacuums, and sometimes he even does laundry,’ says Salé. ‘We never fight about money,’ then observes as an afterthought that this might be because they make exactly the same amount. ‘Exactly,’ echoes Pelletier.”

Without doubt, over the years both their fans and the media have asking the one question more than any other: ‘When are you planning to get married?” The answer came in December 2004. “Pelletier surprised Salé with an engagement ring on Christmas Day, sending her on a treasure hunt through their Edmonton home to find it. Pelletier's proposal was made in front of his parents, who were in from Quebec, and Sale's mother during the opening of presents on Christmas morning. ‘My gift from Dave was under the tree, or so I thought,’ said Salé. ‘I opened up the box and there was a card in it giving me a hint at where the present was. I found another card. I had to keep going about four times to four different places in the house. The last card led me to the kitchen, and a ring was sitting with the nutcrackers on the counter. When I saw the ring, I was stunned. The ring is unique. I really like antique-looking rings. The band is platinum with etchings and carvings in it. There are three stones, the larger one in the middle, and they're princess cuts. I could not have picked a better ring. I was absolutely shocked. I had no idea he was going to do it.’ The pair had discussed marriage, and in recent weeks Pelletier would deflect the conversation. ‘He'd say to me, 'Oh, it's not time yet.' So, I wasn't expecting it at all. I put my hands over my mouth and started to cry. He came over and picked up the ring and proposed to me. I was impressed. He really had me going.’"

The couple plan to marry on December 30th of this year. Jamie shares: "we want a winter wedding, before we go on tour. We think that would be beautiful.” For their fans, the announcement of their engagement was very exciting. “Their official website draws 250,000 hits a week, but once the announcement was posted on the site, there were more than a million hits a week.”

The Future

For the moment, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier are enjoying their lives as professional skaters. Looking back, both skaters can be proud of their accomplishments. "’The perspective does change a little bit,’ said Pelletier. ‘The first time you win you're still in the competitive mode, but when you get back and watch (the summer games in Athens), you're in the viewer mode. It brings you back to when you were a kid and you were dreaming of the Olympic Games. You think, 'I can't believe I have a gold medal.'"  

But, Salé and Pelletier are also looking forward to life after skating. They know that their professional skating career cannot last forever but, they are not worried about life after skating. “’What I don’t understand, is why athletes cry when they announce their retirement,’ states Pelletier. ‘They should be smiling because it happened not crying because it’s over. Smile because you had the chance to do it. The day that I hang my skates up, I will be smiling because I will feel lucky that I had the chance to do it’.” Jamie and David have begun working with young pairs and they have talked about developing a pairs school in Alberta. David has also talked about fulfilling a childhood dream to become a firefighter. One thing is certain, whatever they decide, they will be successful. They can look back at their skating career with pleasure, remembering about all the wonderful opportunities they have enjoyed, the places they have traveled, and the people they have met along the way. And their fans will be left with a legacy of performances that will be remembered long after their final performance. Thanks for everything, Jamie and David.