For most of this fall, "Skal vi danse," Norway’s take on "Dancing with the Stars," has had a second storyline running alongside foxtrots and paso dobles. It hasn’t played out on the dance floor, but in the stands, with a familiar young man consistently appearing in the royal cheering section. On Saturday, the subplot paid off. Princess Martha Louise's daughter Leah Behn, one of this year's contestants, made her way over to greet her family and thank them for their support. She kissed Jostein Hamar, the member of the boyband Streetboys.
© NTBNeither of them has publicly addressed their relationship, but after weeks of politely dodging questions, it was about as clear an answer as anyone was going to get.
The royal family was out in force, and nobody seemed surprised. Princess Märtha Louise was in the stands alongside her eldest daughter, Maud Angelica, who held up a sign cheering her sister on. Märtha Louise was said to have captured the kiss on her phone, a detail that underlined the easy rapport she shares with her daughter’s boyfriend.
Who is Jostein Hamar?
Hamar is 20 and is a member of the Norwegian boy band Streetboys. Se og Hør notes that he's also released music under the name Ham4R.
Long before their on-air kiss, the pair had left a trail of clues on social media. Dagbladet reports that both had been dropping red hearts under each other’s Instagram posts for weeks.
The romance speculation began in earnest in late September, at the season premiere of the dance competition, when Hamar was spotted seated next to Märtha Louise, her husband Durel Verret, and Leah’s sisters. When TV 2 caught up with him just before the broadcast and asked about his connection to Leah, he kept it vague.
© Getty Images“I think Leah will go far. We’re so excited to see her,” he said. After the show, according to Dagbladet, he went looking for her, and the two shared a hug away from the dance floor.
If Hamar was the picture of discretion, fellow contestant Sondre Sundby was anything but. Sundby, a personal trainer, winner of the reality series Farmen kjendis, and the younger brother of two-time Olympic champion cross-country skier Martin Johnsrud Sundby, was being interviewed by TV 2 alongside Leah when the conversation turned to whether either of them was single. Sundby pointed at her and announced that Leah is “not single.” Leah smiled, waved, and walked out of the interview.
A bittersweet debut
The romance has unfolded against an emotional season for Leah, who has become one of the standout contestants of the year alongside her professional partner, Andreas Holst Hiim. Her television debut came weeks after the death of her grandfather, King Harald, on August 28. In the introduction that aired before her first dance, she acknowledged that the past weeks had been “very special,” and admitted how hard it is to go through something like that when the whole country’s attention is fixed on your family.
She also spoke about losing her father, Ari Behn, who died on Christmas Day 2019, when she was 14. She explained that in the years after, her friends and the world of makeup became her safe space, the place where she could let go and be herself. She later dedicated an entire dance to her late father, earning a standing ovation from the studio audience.
On Saturday night, she had no shortage of people in her corner. Beyond Hamar, she was supported by her mother, her sisters Emma Tallulah and Maud Angelica, and her stepfather Verrett. She was also supported by her father’s side of the family, including her uncle Espen Bjørshol, who came along with his daughter.
© Getty Images
