After months of speculation and plenty of sightings of the pair together, Nathan Cleary has finally gone Instagram official with his girlfriend, Mary Fowler.
Cleary, 26, shared a photo sat on the beach with Matildas superstar Fowler, 20, on Tuesday, confirming sport’s worst-kept secret amid the pair’s well-documented summer of love.
The Panthers halfback captioned the post, which featured images with friends as well as one of him in training, ‘that’s life’.
He also added an ice cream emoji, a pointed reference to the first hint that the pair were an item back in August.
Cleary’s camp initially denied that the pair were dating, saying it was ‘just ice cream’ and nothing more.
Nathan Cleary has gone Instagram official with Mary Fowler after months of speculation
His sister, Indi, revealed what prompted the unexpected reveal.
‘Watches a rom com, posts a debut. Love it,’ she wrote underneath the post.
Cleary’s Penrith teammate, Brian To’o, jokingly commented: ‘Mr and Mrs Cleary’.
Australia’s new sporting power couple enjoyed time together over Christmas with Fowler afforded a few weeks off for the winter break in the Women’s Super League, where she plays for Manchester City.
The pair were reunited at Sydney Airport late last month, having not seen each other since November 2, and were almost inseparable until her return to England. Fowler spent a couple of days over Christmas away from Cleary, which she spent with family in Cairns.
Their romance became public courtesy of Daily Mail Austraia’s exclusive photos of them in a Perth park before Australia’s game againt Chinese Taipei.
Cleary watched on as Fowler scored in a 3-0 win for the Matildas.
Both athletes are said to be very private when it comes to their relationships, but Cleary recently admitted that the intense spotlight on his personal life is something he didn’t expect.
‘Obviously it’s different from when I was young coming into first grade and people are dissecting my game. I hadn’t had that before,’ Cleary told News Corp.
Cleary included Fowler in a Instagram carousel captioned ‘that’s life’
Cleary poses with friends in his latest post which has set tongues wagging
‘That was a hurdle at the time. You start to learn to deal with that.’
The three-time premiership-winning halfback has accepted that the media attention is not something he can control, either.
‘I haven’t had too many people look into my personal life. But it’s just what comes with it. It’s something that I can’t control,’ he said.
Fowler recently talked about her dream to start a family of her own when she proved a huge hit with the youngsters at the Rise & Shine Kindergarten in the city’s south, then she and Cleary enjoyed a lunch date at Penrith in Sydney’s far west.
The smitten couple then looked more loved-up than ever as they gave each other tips on how to play their respective footy codes during an hour-long exercise session at an oval near Cleary’s Penrith home.
Both stars looked over the moon to be together and got affectionately hands-on as Fowler tested her NRL passing skills and Cleary showed surprising ability with a soccer ball.
The couple were recently dubbed Nath-ilda, but that moniker hasn’t gone down well with fans, many who claimed it was unacceptable as it didn’t include Mary Fowler’s name in it.
The pair were reunited at Sydney Airport last month and spent some weeks together
Fowler and Cleary have bee spotted multiple times but remained silent on social media
‘This is absolutely the worst possible couple nickname they could’ve come up with. Simply unacceptable IMO,’ wrote one Panthers fan on X.
‘I think Nathan & Mary should be referred to as Clear Fowl. It’s also Football Related,’ replied another.
‘Omg also makes her job her identity??? I f**kin hate it,’ said a third.
Cleary and Fowler first attracted attention as a potential couple after being spotted together on two occasions following the Women’s World Cup.
Initial sightings included a leisurely walk along the Nepean River in Penrith, where the 25-year-old NRL sensation and the Matildas striker were seen spending quality time together.
