Mary Fowler and Nathan Cleary: Inside the star couple’s romance

Mary opened up to Stellar about her early days with Nathan, and how she went on her first date with him before their first game of the 2023 Women’s World Cup tournament.

“I have so many positive feelings about the tournament itself. But then, outside of it, it was such an exciting time as well,” she told Stellar.

“We met up quite a few times during [the 2023 World Cup] and I don’t think we really thought about it ever getting out.

“I think we’re both really grateful that it came out after.”

“I’ve become a lot more comfortable with expressing my love and just being a lot more present with him, and with others, when people are watching.

“Something I really appreciate in our relationship is that – although we’re both professional athletes – most of our talk about sport is actually [about] the mental side,” she added.

“Nathan has been so helpful with that. He is almost like a role model for me now.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Nathan was told a journalist had asked if he was “Mary’s boyfriend”.

He also added that his “biggest goal in life, [is] to one day be a father.”

“But it’s just probably not meant to be at the moment and there are still things that have to fall into place.

“We’re both in the middle of our sporting journeys and enjoying that.

“So when the day comes, I would absolutely love that.

“But yeah, it’s just not right now.”

As their romance continued to dominate social media, Nathan opened up on his plans for the future and shared a brief glimpse into his relationship.

“People look at us and think we’re talking about our sport all the time, but sometimes, it’s just nice to sit there as two human beings and enjoy each other’s company and talk about something other than sport,” he told the Keegan & Co. podcast, adding, “When we’re together, we just enjoy each other’s company, but it’s that support and trust that if something is going wrong, we can talk to each other about it and bounce ideas off each other. It’s been really nice.”

Looking to the future, Nathan revealed that he would love to start a family with the Matildas star, saying, “It’s obviously tough that we are both pretty stuck into our sport. I definitely want to [have children] 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. I see that post-footy, I would love to have a little family of my own.”

While she may not have been Down Under during Nathan’s 2024 grand final win, Nathan revealed on the Straight Talk with Mark Bouris podcast that Mary was supporting the Penrith Panthers all the way from England.

“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 shared.

The NRL star also revealed that the couple first crossed paths at an Adidas event, adding, “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 got to know her a little bit.”

One of Nathan’s teammates and Penrith Panthers star Brian To’o raised eyebrows in September after seemingly letting slip to a commentator that Nathan and Mary were engaged.

“They are just chilling on the side everyone is going crazy,” he said explaining, “They are pretty much here for Nathan and Mary so congrats to them, I think they got engaged.”

The moment was meant to be tongue in cheek, but it still got the rumour mill going again, with Mary and Nathan further igniting speculation after sharing another selfie together on social media.

Nathan Cleary opens up about the beginning of his relationship with Mary Fowler

In a chat on Nine’s Marlee and Me podcast, Nathan opened up about the attention his relationship with Mary received in the early days.

“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 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.

Although Mary remained tight-lipped on any details, Nathan coyly responded to a few questions at the GQ Awards red carpet in Sydney on December 7.

When asked by news.com.au why he was attending solo he replied, “I’m just here by myself. No plus-one”.

“I knew this was coming,” he added when asked a follow-up question regarding Mary’s whereabouts. “She’s busy.”

At the time, Mary and her fellow Matildas teammates were in Vancouver, finishing up a round of friendlies against Canada. 

The comments came a mere two weeks before photos emerged of the two together at Sydney airport. 

Fans first linked the Matildas star with the NRL playing following the World Cup madness in August 2023, when Mary was spotted enjoying an ice cream date with Nathan.

At the time, Nathan’s team, the Penrith Panthers, were quick to shut down the reports, with Nathan confirming to The Daily Telegraph that he was not in a relationship with Mary.

The rugby player’s team told the publication that the interaction was “just ice cream” and “nothing more.” However, one week later on August 31, the same publication shared photos of the pair on a stroll 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 Cleary spotted supporting Mary Fowler in Perth

In October, the pair were spotted holding hands and enjoying some downtime between matches at the 2024 Olympic Qualifiers in Perth.

According to The Daily Mail, Nathan flew into Perth to watch Australia vs the Philippines on October 29, 2023. 

Ahead of the Matildas’ match against Chinese Taipei on November 1, the rumoured couple were seen cuddling and holding hands in a park.

“They could be seen lying together in the middle of an open park by the water – laughing, hugging, chatting,” The Daily Mail reports of their outing.

Rumours surrounding Nathan and Mary’s relationship were further heightened on the night of the Matildas game after Nathan was spotted amongst the crowd of Tillies supporters by the official broadcast.