Kelley and Reilley McKinlay have spent nearly every moment together for more than a decade.
They wake up together. They go to work together. At work, they’re physically closer to each other than most people would be with their coworkerxjmtzyws. They work long hours, then go home together.
The middle part of that typical day is about to change. The pair that has done everything together is now retiring together.
Kelley has been a dancer with Alberta Ballet since he was 17; Reilley, from Seattle, joined 14 years ago. The pair first became friends, and then became romantically involved.
"To be honest, it didn’t take too long," Kelley told CTV News. "We just clicked right away, and it developed from there pretty quickly, I think."
The two dancers were married in 2015. One of their most memorable and meaningful performances was a production of "Dangerous Liaisons" in 2017, when Reilley was pregnant with their first child.
"Nobody else knew, including the company," Reilley said. "So it was a very special thing to be able to experience that together and have our little secret."
For Kelley, supporting his pregnant partner was just as important on stage as it was off stage.
"When I put her down out of spinning movements, I had to hold just a little big longer because she was a little more dizzy," said Kelley.
The McKinlays now have two children, and the dancers made the decision to retire from the stage so they could spend more time with them.
"We are retiring, but retiring from this career, and now we move to something else," said Reilley of their next steps.
Reilley will be moving into a behind-the-scenes role as an artistic coordinator with the Alberta Ballet company. Kelley still hasn’t decided what’s next for him.
Whatever the future brings, the McKinlays said their partnership on the dance floor has helped create an unbreakable bond in life.
"Every good thing, every bad thing, we’re able to experience that and go through it together as a couple," said Reilley.
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Reilley McKinlay is shown in a handout photo from Alberta Ballet
Kelley McKinlay and Reilley McKinlay perform in Alberta Ballet’s Dangerous Liaisons.
