Lindsey Vonn Opened Up About Having a ‘Clean Slate’ in 2021 Just 2 Weeks Before Announcing Split
P.K. Subban and Lindsey Vonn
Just two weeks before announcing her split from fiancé P.K. Subban, Lindsey Vonn opened up to PEOPLE about looking forward to a “clean slate” in the new year.
“A new year, new hope, full of positivity and just kind of shedding 2020,” she said in an interview, discussing what she is looking forward to in 2021.
“I just want to break free from it, and I feel like I’m so optimistic and so looking forward to a new year,” Vonn, 36, said, going on to reference the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “As long as people are healthy and we can get this vaccine going, and everyone can get back to work and be healthy, that’s what I’m hopeful for and that makes me really excited.”
“So here’s to 2021,” she added.
Vonn also shared that she and Subban, who is a defenseman on the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, were able to workout together “most of the time,” but also had very different and busy schedules throughout 2020.
RELATED: Lindsey Vonn and P.K. Subban Split, End Engagement After 3 Years Together: ‘We Will Always Remain Friends’
“Well, shockingly, I’ve been really busy, which has been great, and P.K. has been training,” Vonn told PEOPLE. “I mean, he’s been waiting to find out when the season’s going to start. He’s literally been training for nine months straight.”
Vonn added that she thought it had been “mentally draining” for Subban, 31, to be preparing for the upcoming season due to COVID-19, but added that she has been “working even harder” in quarantine.
“I was able to focus on things that I didn’t have time to focus on before. I started my own production company, and I’m finishing my memoir, and obviously my Amazon show was filmed right before COVID hit, so I was happy that that ended up being finished, and just working with my foundation,” the Olympian, who retired from professional skiing last year, said.
P.K. Subban Instagram P.K. Subban and Lindsey Vonn
“I definitely checked a lot of boxes during COVID that I normally wouldn’t have been able to do or have that much time to do, but also I’ve been focused a lot on my fitness,” the gold medalist continued. “That’s one thing that I’ve realized in retirement. I shouldn’t say retirement because I guess I’m not retired, but after my skiing career, I’ve felt like working out really kept me positive and especially, even more so with the pandemic, I needed to work out every day to feel sane. And I was happy that P.K. and I are able to work out together most of the time, and obviously we had the dogs with us, which always makes me happy.”
“So I think all things considered, we made the most out of our time together,” she said.
Vonn and Subban announced that they were ending their engagement in matching Instagram posts on Tuesday.
“Over the past 3 years PK and I have had some incredible times together. He is a kind, good man, and someone I respect a great deal,” Vonn wrote.
Lindsey Vonn/Instagram Lindsey Vonn, P.K. Subban
“Lindsey is one of the most kind and caring people I know,” Subban said in his post. “I will always treasure our time as a couple together and the many laughs we shared.”
Both Vonn and Subban added: “After much consideration, we have decided to move forward separately. We will always remain friends and love each other immensely. We ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”
RELATED: Lindsey Vonn Says Wedding to P.K. Subban Is Still Delayed Due to COVID: ‘I Don’t Know What to Plan’
The athletes got engaged in August 2019, and the following December, Vonn “returned the favor” to Subban by asking the hockey player to marry her in a cute Christmas proposal.
Vonn and Subban had been planning to wed this summer, but Vonn said earlier this month that the pandemic delayed their plans.
“His family is in Canada, so I can’t even travel there,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “My family is kind of scattered all over the U.S. My sister lives in Italy with her husband, so getting everyone together at this point is next to impossible.”
“I don’t know what to plan,” the athlete said. “We don’t know anything. Ideally, a perfect wedding would just be all my friends and family and less of a ceremony and more of a party.”