Mary Fowler and Nathan Cleary relationship timeline: How they met, love story and everything to know | Explainer

The sporting power couple of Mary Fowler and Nathan Clearly have been dominating headlines for their relationship. 

Fowler, 20, is an Aussie soccer star who plays for both the English Women’s Super League club Manchester City and the Australian national team, the Matildas. 

Cleary, 26, plays professional rugby league football as a halfback for the Aussie NRL team, the Penrith Panthers, he also represents Australia at an international level.

READ MORE: ‘Wasn’t happy’: The one rule Matildas star had for Nathan Cleary at matches 

Rumoured to be together for months before their shock confirmation, here is everything you need to know about this pair’s love story and how it came to be. 

August 2023

The first whispers of these sporting stars dating emerged after a cute ice cream date, though rumours of it being romantic were quickly shut down. Later on, several media outlets ph shared pictures of the pair walking in Sydney together, with a source sharing some insight. 

READ MORE: Nathan Cleary finally goes Instagram official with Matildas star Mary Fowler

“They were taking photos and talking with other locals, and walking up and down the Nepean River together for quite some time.”  

The pair were said to have met at an Adidas promotional event. The company sponsors both of the sporting pros. 

October 2023

READ MORE: Mackenzie Arnold and Kirsty Smith’s complete relationship timeline

The next month, Fowler and Clearly were spotted again, this time showing some PDA, they were caught by paparazzi pics holding hands, cuddling and even laying on one another in a park in Perth. 

Allegedly, the NRL star had flown to the city to spend some time with her before Tilly’s Olympics qualifying match, clearly was later spotted in the crowd at the game. 

November 2023

The couple kept a low profile in November with Fowler playing overseas for Manchester City and Cleary enjoying some off-season holiday time. 

December 2023 

In December we would finally get some more concrete evidence of the couple’s relationship.

Despite Fowler keeping it on the down low and not addressing any questions regarding the romance, Clearly was less tight-lipped. 

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Nathan Cleary seen cheering Mary Fowler on at Matildas match

While at Australia’s GQ Awards, after winning Sportsman of the Year, Cleary was asked why he was attending the event solo and where Fowler was.

The sportsman replied, “She’s busy,” which she was, in Vancouver alongside some Tilly’s teammates. 

READ MORE: Football stars Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis’ complete relationship timeline

Just a few weeks later though, pictures of them reuniting and hugging at Sydney airport were snapped.

The pair were also rumoured to have spent time around Christmas together, spotted eating dinner with some friends on the Gold Coast.

January 2024

Fowler and Cleary rang in the new year with an Instagram hard launch, finally putting the rumours to rest and confirming their romance. 

On Jan. 16, Cleary posted a photo dump of the last couple weeks of his life, nestled in was a loved-up pic of himself and Fowler on a beach.

It was captioned “that’s life” with an ice cream emoji which may have been a subtle nod to their ice cream date back in August being the start of their romance. 

READ MORE: The Matildas almost had a completely different name

Three days later, on the 19th, Fowler did the same thing, posting a pic of Cleary with his arm around her. 

The pair have continued to keep their romance low-profile.