Carly Rae Jepsen Reveals Her Baby's Name Was Inspired By 'Heated Rivalry'—And Fans Are So Here For It

If the Venn diagram of Carly Rae Jepsen fans and Heated Rivalry fans wasn’t already a circle, this might finally do it.

The "Call Me Maybe" singer just revealed that her first child with husband Cole M.G.N. is a baby boy named Ilya—and yes, that Ilya may have had something to do with it. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about her new album, Day and Night, Jepsen opened up about her love for Heated Rivalry before casually dropping the baby-name revelation.

Jepsen put it best herself:

“It was an incredible show. Ilya is the name of my son. Maybe, not maybe because of that show.”

If the name Ilya already means something to you, congratulations on your excellent taste in queer television. For everyone else, Ilya Rozanov is the Russian hockey star played by Connor Storrie and one-half of Heated Rivalry’s central couple alongside Shane Hollander.

Apparently, the Carly Rae Jepsen-to-gay-hockey pipeline is not only real—it now has a birth certificate.

And the real-life baby Ilya made his Instagram debut in Jepsen’s post:

Jepsen and music producer Cole M.G.N., whose real name is Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, first met during a professional songwriting session in May 2021. They got engaged in 2024 before tying the knot at New York City’s Chelsea Hotel.

She reflected on the balance she worked hard to find:

“I can live a life, go to the grocery store, have a family, tour music that I love, and have an audience. That’s a very hard-earned, balanced thing that we’ve had to work at.”

Finding that balance also meant deciding what she wanted professionally. Jepsen addressed her split from former manager Scooter Braun, explaining that the two ultimately envisioned different paths for her career.

Jepsen explained why she decided to go her own way:

“I wanted to do something a little bit less mainstream, and I liked what he had offered, but I didn’t necessarily think it was what I wanted anymore. I felt like it was just going to be a little bit easier to shake hands, walk away, and go let my freak flag fly, so to speak.”

As for music she loves, Jepsen nearly had the chance to bring her own to Heated Rivalry. Series creator Jacob Tierney previously revealed that he wanted the fellow Canadian to write an original song for season 1, but it ultimately wasn’t in the budget.

The door isn’t closed, either. Jepsen told The Hollywood Reporter that she hasn’t heard from Tierney about season 2, but said writing a song for the series would be a “dream.”

Needless to say, gay hockey Twitter had a field day:

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At this point, Jepsen’s Heated Rivalry credentials are solid: devoted viewer, possible baby-name inspiration, and aspiring soundtrack contributor. Your move, season 2.

In the meantime, Day and Night arrives September 18, with Day leaning into sun-soaked psychedelic pop and Night embracing synth-heavy electropop.

Jepsen is already looking beyond the album, teasing 16 and Rising:

[It’s] about my coffee shop days and a guy I was dating back then, and what happened as I moved through this. [It’s about] why I couldn’t quite settle for this beautiful life that was ahead of me because I was pining for something that I didn’t quite know what it was.”

The double album also mixes longtime collaborators with newer creative faces, including Jeremy O. Harris, who directed the "Don’t Leave Me on the Dance Floor" music video starring Alden Ehrenreich.

Harris praised Jepsen’s openness to a fresh perspective:

“She’s such an artist. She understands her audience and her own work incredibly well but is also excited for someone who can show her another lens.”

Watch Jepsen dish on Heated Rivalry, new music, and more below:

- YouTubeThe Hollywood Reporter

Between new music and a baby name steeped in Heated Rivalry lore, Jepsen has plenty going on. The only question left: Which Carly Rae Jepsen song belongs on the season 2 soundtrack?