Australian sport’s newest power couple has gone Insta-official, with fans going wild online over a cheeky dig by NRL superstar Nathan Cleary.
Cleary, who in 2023 captained the Penrith Panthers in a stunning fightback to claim a third straight NRL title, shared a picture of himself and Aussie soccer star Mary Fowler relaxing on a beach.
Fowler, 20, who plays for Manchester City in the Women’s Super League, also had a massive 2023, starring in the Matildas’ World Cup campaign in which they knocked France out of the competition in the quarter-final.
Their relationship was the worst-kept secret in Aussie sport, with the two snapped out in public on several occasions and even “soft-launching” their relationship on Instagram in early January via a series of cryptic posts.
But it was a cheeky detail in Tuesday’s Instagram post that proved a highlight, with Cleary captioning the post “That’s life” and including an ice cream emoji.
The emoji was a reference to the couple’s relationship initially making headlines back in August when they were spotted getting ice cream after attending a promotional event for Adidas.
A spokesperson for Cleary, 25, said at the time that it was “just ice cream”.
Hello Sport podcast, where the story about the pair getting ice cream first surfaced, replied to Tuiesday’s Instagram post with their own cheeky dig, saying, “It’s never just ice cream.”
The post also included snaps of Cleary out with mates, at training and a stunning sunset.
He’ll be hoping to lead his Panthers to a fourth successive title when the NRL season begins in March.