Nathan Cleary, 27, and Mary Fowler, 21, have quickly become a fan-favourite couple, with sports fanatics obsessing over two of Australia’s biggest athletes being romantically linked.
Interest in their relationship has only grown as they’ve continued to share insights into their life together. Here, we look back at the power couple’s beautiful love story.
In early 2024, they hard launched their relationship. (Credit: Instagram)
NATHAN CLEARY AND MARY FOWLER’S RELATIONSHIP TIMELINE
AUGUST 2023: DATING RUMOURS SWIRL
Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler were linked for the first time in August 2023 after being seen on an ice cream date together.
At the time, the NRL player’s team were quick to shut down reports that they were dating, telling The Daily Telegraph that the interaction was “just ice cream” and “nothing more.”
Nathan also told the publication that he was not in a relationship with Mary.
However, one week later on 31 August, The Daily Telegraph shared new photos of the pair together.
“They were taking photos and talking with other locals, and walking up and down the Nepean River together for quite some time,” a source told the publication.
OCTOBER 2023: NATHAN WATCHES MARY PLAY
After playing off their ice cream date as a friendly hang-out session, things took a serious turn towards romance when the NRL player showed up to support the Matildas star at the Olympic Qualifiers in Perth in October 2023.
“They could be seen laying together in the middle of an open park by the water – laughing, hugging, chatting,” The Daily Mail reported.
The publication alleged that Nathan flew to the city in support of Mary as she starred in Australia’s win against the Philippines the weekend before, and was seen cheering for his then-rumoured girlfriend at the game.
The Daily Mail shared images of the pair cuddling and holding hands in a park before the Matildas’ Olympic qualifying match against Chinese Taipei on 1 November.
Nathan cheered for Mary during her game. (Credit: Getty)
DECEMBER 2023: NATHAN ADDRESSES ROMANCE
The pair remained tight-lipped about their relationship, but when Nathan attended the GQ Awards in Sydney on 7 December, he was asked why he was there solo.
“I’m just here by myself. No plus-one,” he told news.com.au, adding, “I knew this was coming.”
When asked a follow-up question about where Mary was, he coyly responded, “She’s busy.” At the time, she was in Canada with her Matildas teammates.
A few weeks later, photos of the couple reuniting at Sydney airport emerged.
APRIL 2024: THEY GO PUBLIC
Their relationship was taken to the next level when Mary shared their first official couple photo to Instagram in April 2024.
Fans were quick to show their support to the lovebirds, with one person even commenting, “Australia’s royal couple”.
For the most part, they’ve kept details about their romance under wraps, but they’ve continued to share snippets of their life together through their respective social media pages.
SEPTEMBER 2024: ENGAGEMENT RUMOURS EMERGE
In September 2024, Nathan’s Penrith Panthers teammate Brian To’o fuelled rumours that the pair were engaged.
“They are just chilling on the side, everyone is going crazy,” he told a commentator. “They are pretty much here for Nathan and Mary so congrats to them, I think they got engaged.”
That same month, Nathan appeared on Nine’s Marlee and Me podcast, where he addressed the attention their romance got early on.
“Whenever I was with her, it just felt like we were two normal people… and then all of a sudden people were taking photos of us, and then they were being published, and then there were articles, then there were people waiting out the front of my house,” he said.
“One day I was driving and I realised this car was following me… then I took a few turns, took a few turns, they took the exact same turns. I was pretty much in a car chase. That was like mind-blowing to me. I understand it, I guess because people care. But, also I just thought you deserve some sort of private life.”
“I probably felt more sorry for her to be honest. She’s younger than I am, and after the World Cup happened she became quite a public figure. It all happened so quick, and now her relationship is in the public eye, it was hard to wrap your head around,” he continued.
OCTOBER 2024: NATHAN LIFTS LID ON RELATIONSHIP
In October 2024, Nathan reflected on his romance with Mary, sharing that although she wasn’t there in person to witness his grand final win, she was supporting the Panthers from the other side of the world.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing her. She’s in England now. Their season had just started so she couldn’t come back for the game, but she wore the Panthers jersey to her game actually and was watching it in the sheds,” he revealed on the Straight Talk with Mark Bouris podcast.
He also confirmed that the pair first met at an Adidas event, sharing, “I’d known of her for a little bit and then I sort of knew that she was going to be there that night, and I was a bit like, ‘Oh, I hope that our paths cross.’”
“We’re both pretty shy though, so it was nothing crazy at the start and we just – she was here for the World Cup, so [I] got to know her a little bit.”
DECEMBER 2024: NATHAN TALKS ABOUT LONG-DISTANCE & HAVING KIDS
Nathan opened up about the hardships of their long-distance relationship in December 2024. Mary plays for Manchester City in England, while he remains in Sydney.
“It’s been tough, it’s definitely not something that I ever thought I’d do. I think it sort of helped for us that as soon as we met each other, and we sort of got talking, we knew it was going to lead down to that path and if we wanted to do it, it was going to be long distance,” Nathan said on the Keegan and Company podcast.
Despite the challenging nature of their relationship dynamic, he revealed he’s thought about their future and starting a family.
“It’s obviously tough that we are both pretty stuck into our sport … definitely want to in the future. I’d love for it to be with Mary. I just think she’d be the best mother, but yeah, we’ll see.
“It’s not a rush at the moment but definitely in the future … post footy, I would love to have a little family of my own.”
