Dylan Alcott relationship, disability, and life today

Paralympic gold medals: 4 ·
Grand Slam titles (wheelchair tennis): 15 ·
Golden Slam year: 2021 ·
Australian of the Year: 2022 ·
Sports: Wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis

Seven key details, one pattern: almost every major milestone in Alcott’s life — from his diagnosis to his sporting career to his current advocacy — reflects his refusal to let disability define his limits.

Is Dylan Alcott in a relationship?

Yes, Dylan Alcott is in a committed relationship with Chantelle Otten, a registered psychologist and sexologist. The couple has been together for several years and remains a team in both their personal lives and their public advocacy for disability and intimacy (ABC Q+A – Dylan Alcott on sex and disability).

Who is Chantelle Otten?

• Chantelle Otten is a registered psychologist and sexologist based in Melbourne (Wikipedia – Dylan Alcott).
• She has appeared alongside Alcott in media discussing the egg‑freezing process and the importance of open conversations about sexuality and disability (Plan Partners – 5 lessons from Dylan Alcott).

Are Chantelle Otten and Dylan Alcott still together?

As of 2025, the couple is still together. They have been open about their relationship in interviews and social media, including their shared decision to pursue egg freezing as part of their family‑planning journey (Northcott Disability Service – Facebook post).

The implication: their public platform reinforces that open conversations about disability and relationships are possible.

What caused Dylan Alcott’s disability?

Alcott was born with a non‑malignant tumour wrapped around his spinal cord. Surgery to remove it at birth resulted in paraplegia, meaning he has no use of his legs and uses a wheelchair (YouTube – Straight Talk interview).

What is Dylan Alcott’s disability?

He has paraplegia, a paralysis of the lower half of the body. The condition is permanent and does not affect his cognitive abilities. This distinction is important because Alcott has repeatedly challenged assumptions that people with physical disabilities cannot have fulfilling romantic or sexual lives (ABC Q+A – Dylan Alcott on sex and disability).

The pattern: Alcott’s experience shows that exclusion from intimacy is often an accessibility issue, not a medical one.

What does Dylan Alcott currently do?

Since retiring from competitive tennis in 2022, Alcott has built a multifaceted career in media, philanthropy, and advocacy.

Dylan Alcott radio career

• He co‑hosts The Set, a daily radio show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) (Culture Amp – disability inclusion lessons).

Dylan Alcott Paralympics retirement

• He retired after the 2022 Australian Open, where he won his 15th Grand Slam title (Wikipedia – Dylan Alcott).
• He runs the Dylan Alcott Foundation, which provides grants to young people with disabilities (Plan Partners – 5 lessons from Dylan Alcott).
• He also works as a motivational speaker and actor (Culture Amp – disability inclusion lessons).

What this means: Alcott has turned his athletic fame into a platform for broader impact, especially around disability representation.

How to overcome challenges when dating with a disability?

Alcott has turned his personal experience into a public platform. Together with Chantelle Otten, he offers a blueprint for dating with a disability that centres on honest communication and proactive planning.

1. Talk openly about practical needs and intimacy early in a relationship. Alcott and Otten both stress this point (Developing Aus Communities – dating with a disability guide).
2. Plan family life proactively. The couple underwent egg freezing to preserve the option of having biological children (Plan Partners – 5 lessons from Dylan Alcott). Alcott has said this decision was driven by a desire to plan their family on their own terms (Northcott Disability Service – Facebook post).
3. Ask direct questions rather than rely on assumptions. Alcott argues that disabled people are often excluded from conversations about sex and relationships because others assume they cannot participate – a barrier that honest communication can break (ABC Q+A – Dylan Alcott on sex and disability).

The catch: even with open communication, systemic barriers remain – but Alcott’s example proves they can be challenged.

Has Dylan Alcott got children?

As of 2025, Dylan Alcott and Chantelle Otten do not have children. They have been open about their intention to start a family and are in the early stages of egg‑freezing treatment (Plan Partners – 5 lessons from Dylan Alcott).

The implication: the couple is taking a deliberate, medical‑savvy approach to family planning, one that Alcott says should be as normalised for disabled couples as it is for non‑disabled couples.

Dylan Alcott timeline

• 1990 – Born in Melbourne (Wikipedia – Dylan Alcott)
• 2008 – Wins gold in wheelchair basketball at Beijing Paralympics (Wikipedia – Dylan Alcott)
• 2016 – Wins gold in wheelchair tennis singles at Rio Paralympics (Wikipedia – Dylan Alcott)
• 2021 – Completes the Golden Slam (Wikipedia – Dylan Alcott)
• 2022 – Retires from tennis after Australian Open; named Australian of the Year (Culture Amp – disability inclusion lessons)
• 2025 – Still together with Chantelle Otten; pursuing egg freezing (Plan Partners – 5 lessons from Dylan Alcott)

The pattern: each milestone reinforces Alcott’s refusal to let disability define his limits.

The catch: while many facts are well-sourced, some key details remain unconfirmed.

Voices: what Alcott and Otten say

“When I was younger, there was no information about sex and disability. I went to the internet and learned from pornography rather than reliable sex education.”

Dylan Alcott, Straight Talk interview (YouTube – Straight Talk)

“Many people with disability are excluded from conversations about sex, relationships, and children because others assume we can’t have sex.”

Dylan Alcott, ABC Q+A (ABC Q+A – Facebook video)

“We want to plan our family on our own terms. That’s why we’re doing egg freezing.”

Chantelle Otten, in coverage by Plan Partners (Plan Partners – 5 lessons from Dylan Alcott)

For anyone in Australia – or anywhere – navigating disability and dating, the lesson from Alcott and Otten is clear: open conversations, proactive planning, and refusing to let society’s low expectations set the agenda. For the couple themselves, the next chapter – whether it involves children, marriage, or both – will unfold on their own terms, and with a public platform that has already changed the conversation about disability and intimacy.

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