Flores was born on April 30, 2003, in Wiesbaden, Germany to parents Holly, a financial advisor, and Tony, a consultant, both of whom served in the U.S. Army. She has a younger sister, Olivia, who competes for the U.S. in pair skating.[1] Flores is of Mexican and Italian descent.[2]
Flores began learning how to skate in 2009 in Colorado Springs. She trained as a single skater in 2011, when she became inspired to take up ice dance after attending a seminar on the discipline hosted by her current coach, Elena Dostatni.[5] Early in her ice dance career, Flores skated with a number of different partners, including Davis Ortonward from 2013 to 2014, Mikhail Gumba from 2017 to 2018, and British skater Adam Bouaziz from 2019 to 2020. Flores/Bouaziz finished 13th at the 2020 U.S. Junior Championships before splitting in the spring when Bouaziz returned home to the United Kingdom.[1][6]
Following the end of her partnership with Bouaziz, Flores teamed up with Dimitry Tsarevski in May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Flores/Tsarevski only competed domestically during the 2020–21 season, placing third in the junior ice dance category at a U.S. Figure Skating virtual invitational event and claiming the pewter medal at the 2021 U.S. Junior Championships. Following their podium finish at nationals, Flores stated, "Dima and I are ecstatic that we were able to make the breakthrough." The then-17-year-old also shared hopes for the season ahead, adding, "Ultimately this [their 4th place finish] allows us to set loftier goals for this season such as qualifying for Junior Worlds."[6]
Flores/Tsarevski were slated to competed at the U.S. national championships in early January 2022. However, Flores unexpectedly lost contact with Tsarevski in late December 2021, citing Christmas Day as the last time she'd been able to reach him.[7] In a final update on the situation posted to her Instagram account on February 3, 2022, Flores stated that while she still had not heard from Tsarevski, she'd decided to accept the apparent end of their partnership and begin considering other options to continue her ice dance career.[7] While further details regarding Tsarevski's circumstances during late 2021 and early 2022 have never been made public, the skater did return to competition in 2023 with a new partner, Katarina Wolfkostin.[8]
2022–23 season: Debut of Flores/Desyatov
Flores traveled abroad for two months at the beginning of 2022 in search of a new partner, but ultimately, her efforts were unsuccessful. She returned to her home rink in Colorado where she met her now partner and later husband, Ivan Desyatov, who'd made the decision to relocate to the United States from Belarus in search of a partner of his own during the time she'd been away.[9] The two skaters tried out and skated together for several months before officially committing to a partnership, having both recently gone through major periods of transition.[5] Flores/Desyatov confirmed their partnership for the U.S. in June 2022.[10]
Flores/Desyatov were initially unable to compete internationally for the U.S. as Desyatov was still awaiting release from the Skating Union of Belarus. They qualified to the 2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships by placing second in the senior ice dance category at the 2023 Eastern Sectional Championships. Flores/Desyatov finished 10th at the U.S. Championships in late January 2023.
Negotiations for Desyatov's release from Belarus began at the end of the 2022–23 season. The process proved more complicated and financially burdensome than the team initially expected, as the Belarusian federation requested US$25,000 in restitution for Desyatov's training expenses incurred during the season prior. Flores and Desyatov were able to crowdfund the majority of the cost requested, and Flores announced their success in securing Desyatov's release on July 16, 2023.[11]
The duo were assigned to debut on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit at the 2024 Skate America, however, two days before the event, their names were withdrawn and they were replaced by Annabelle Morozov/Jeffrey Chen.[13] On October 18, the U.S. Center for SafeSport announced that Desyatov had been sanctioned with a temporary suspension due to allegations of misconduct.[14] In November, Flores made an Instagram post, confirming that she and Desyatov would miss the remainder of the season due to the ongoing investigation.[15]
