At first glance, Tom Garneau and Damien Verhaegen look like they wandered straight out of Heated Rivalry.
There are hockey photos.
There is kissing.
There is a handsome Canadian couple looking very comfortable together around a rink.
So naturally, fans started making comparisons to Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.
But Tom and Damien are not newly dating hockey boyfriends with a complicated secret.
They have been together for about 15 years.
They are married.
And instead of escaping to a cabin, they bought an abandoned French château. 😂🏰
Meet Tom And Damien
The pair met in Montreal after being introduced at a dinner with mutual friends.
Tom has said Damien became his first boyfriend after he came out.
The relationship moved quickly.
Within roughly six months, they were living together.
Over the years, they built a life in Canada, eventually settling in Vancouver.
Tom also became part of the city’s inclusive hockey community through Cutting Edges, an LGBTQ+-friendly organization that gives queer players a place to enjoy the sport without having to leave part of themselves outside the rink.
That hockey connection, combined with the couple’s romantic photos, is what helped spark the recent Heated Rivalry comparisons online.
And honestly, we understand it.
Gay couple.
Hockey.
Canada.
Excellent cheekbones.
The algorithm was always going to have thoughts. 😂
But Then The Story Takes A Turn
The comparison is cute, but Tom and Damien’s real-life story becomes considerably more interesting once you leave the rink.
After years in Vancouver, the couple decided to make a dramatic change.
They moved to France.
And they bought a château.
Not a neat little renovated holiday home.
A genuine 19th-century château that had reportedly been empty for decades.
The property, now known as Château Poséidon, dates to the 1860s and needed serious restoration.
For Tom and Damien, that apparently sounded less like a warning and more like a project.
So they packed up their Canadian life and began restoring it together.
From Vancouver To Château Poséidon
The couple now documents much of the restoration online.
Room by room, they are bringing the enormous property back to life while also building a completely new chapter for themselves.
The long-term vision includes turning part of Château Poséidon into a place for weddings and other events.
Which feels particularly appropriate for two men whose own relationship has already survived 15 years, an international move and the apparently minor challenge of restoring an abandoned castle. 😂
The château project also gives their story a lovely sense of scale.
When Tom and Damien first met, Damien became Tom’s first boyfriend.
Fifteen years later, they are husbands rebuilding a piece of French history together.
That is quite a first relationship.
The Real-Life Shane And Ilya?
Not really.
And that is probably the point.
The online comparison works because the images are irresistible and the hockey connection gives Heated Rivalry fans something instantly recognizable.
But Tom and Damien have a life and identity of their own.
Their relationship did not begin as a secret rivalry between elite hockey players.
It began over dinner with friends.
It became a long-term partnership.
Then a marriage.
Then, somehow, a château.
So yes, feel free to enjoy the Shane-and-Ilya vibes.
But the real story is arguably better.
Fifteen years together, gay hockey, a move across the Atlantic and an abandoned French castle they are rebuilding side by side.
Forget the cabin.
These two have a castle. 🏰❤️
📷 @tom.garneau / @damien.verhaegen / @chateau.poseidon
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