This married couple is celebrating Valentine's Day in the most epic way possible — by competing at the Olympics

• American figure skaters Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim began competing together in 2012 and got married four years later.
• Despite Alexa's diagnosis with a rare gastrointestinal illness, they reclaimed their title as national champions in January and made the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic team.
•  On Wednesday, the pair will celebrate Valentine's Day by competing as a team once again. 
• "It is going to be a special Valentine's Day," Chris Knierim told USA Today Sports. "One we might never have again."

Whatever your opinion on Valentine's Day — whether you enjoy it every year or think it's a capitalist trap— Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim's plans for the holiday are irresistibly endearing. The married couple will celebrate February 14 by competing together as a figure skating team at the Winter Olympics.

"It is going to be a special Valentine's Day," Chris said in a January interview with USA Today Sports. "One we might never have again."

The Knierims are the sole US pair at the games this year. They've already helped the US win a bronze medal on Sunday, and will take to the ice again for the pairs' free skate on Wednesday, February 14 — the most romantic day of the year.

"I think it shows while we are skating more than ever how much we love each other," Chris told USA Today. "Not all the teams have the connection. It's natural for us so it's nice we don't have to work on it."

The couple began competing together in 2012 and their chemistry quickly outgrew the ice, they said in an interview with NBC. They were married by their coach four years later in a skating-themed ceremony. Luckily, in their sport, mutual and exaggerated affection is a huge asset — so much so that some skaters keep their non-partner relationships a secret, so as not to distract from the pair's narrative. 

"It's our sole purpose to create a [love] story when we're on the ice," Alexa told NBC. "Chris and I are just fortunate that we're not acting when we're out there. It's true love for us."

Although this is the couple's first Olympic appearance, the Knierims began this year's Olympic season by winning the US International Classic in September and recaptured the US national title — their first as a married couple, second overall — in January.

"When I first officially teamed up with Chris, I gave Dalilah [Sappenfield, our coach] a list of things that I'd like to accomplish," Alexa said in a November video for U.S. Figure Skating. "I had about eight of them. And one of them that I did put in parenthesis was to marry Chris ... I only have two left on that list, and one of them is getting an Olympic spot."

Although the talented couple seems to be living a fairytale, their Olympic dream has not come without obstacles. In 2016, Alexa was diagnosed with a rare — and potentially fatal — gastrointestinal illness, according to USA Today. Her weight plummeted to 80 pounds and she underwent three surgeries.

"I can lift her, throw her, catch her. But there was nothing that I could do to help her, even though that's all I wanted to do," Chris tearfully told NBC. 

Although Alexa managed to regain her health, the pair missed eight months of crucial training, making their success at this year's Olympics all the more impressive — and their enduring relationship even sweeter. The Knierims even admitted to USA Today that they made sure to pack Valentine's gifts for each other before heading off to Pyeongchang .

"We will have a Valentine's Day that no other married couple on the ice will have," Alexa told USA Today. "It will be a most unique bond because there is no other pair competing at the games that is married, so it will be one in a million."

Want more? Read all of our coverage of the Winter Olympics here.

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