Kiwi superstar Hayden Wilde and his fellow pro triathlete girlfriend Hanne De Vet have announced they are engaged to be married.
The couple both revealed their news via a shared post on Instagram, accompanied by a series of images that show them enjoying a candlelit champagne picnic on the beach.
Belgian De Vet is seen proudly showing off her new engagement ring in the images, while her simple four-letter comment reads: “Couldn’t be any happier.”
Headed on holiday post-Qatar
Having both competed in the T100 World Triathlon Tour Finals at the weekend in Qatar, they are now on a well-deserved end-of-season holiday, with Wilde celebrating after he clinched the men’s title with a sixth win from his seven races across the season.
Among those to send their best wishes to the couple in the Instagram comments were many of their fellow triathletes, including Sophie Coldwell, Ben Kanute, Jodie Stimpson, Beth Potter, Morgan Pearson and Wilde’s fellow T100 champion Kate Waugh, who posted the short message, ‘Gonna cry again’.
The couple have experienced mixed fortunes during 2025, with that ultimate on-course success coming after Wilde suffered career-threatening injuries while out riding in Japan last May.
Colliding with a parked truck, he suffered six broken ribs, a punctured lung and a smashed scapula – injuries which saw him fly to Belgium for emergency surgery and embark on a 98-day rehabilitation programme to get him back fit and competing again.
Providing crucial rehab support
Hanne’s support was evident throughout this difficult period as Wilde documented his comeback via a series of YouTube vlogs titled ‘Road To Recovery’.
While the New Zealander was seen regularly putting himself through the challenging course of treatments and physio sessions, Hanne was on hand to help him through the tough times.
Indeed, she had a front-row seat in terms of knowing just how impressive his recovery was.
When she was interviewed during his T100 win in London and was asked whether she was surprised by the win, she said: “I am not surprised about it, to be honest. I believed that he could do it. There were some questions around the swim, and people didn’t expect him to swim as well as he did, but I knew he was alright… he just had to believe in himself.
“I have never seen anyone doing what he did in a rehab. From day one, he was just like, ‘I am getting back; I’m going to get this mobility back in my shoulder as soon as possible; I am going to swim in the pool with one arm’.
“I just haven’t seen many athletes do that, and I studied physio myself. I know how long the normal rehab takes, so for him to pull this off is pretty amazing… but I am not surprised.”
Hanne’s best result of the season saw her win the Challenge Family ‘The Challenge’ in Samorin, Slovakia, last May.
