Mary Fowler has revealed that she and her NRL star boyfriend Nathan Cleary had their first date right before she played in one of the biggest games of her footballing career.
The Matildas star also revealed that she and the Penrith Panthers star have made an agreement not to read any articles about them that have been published online.
In her new memoir, Bloom, Fowler has given fans an open and honest look into her life as a footballer, how she has suffered with mental health issues that heartbreakingly led her to consider taking her own life and also shockingly revealed how she and another black team-mate were given bananas as a leaving gift when they departed Montpellier.
The 22-year-old Manchester City forward also spoke about her relationship with Penrith Panthers star Nathan Cleary, who she had first met at an Adidas store opening in 2023.
Fowler and Cleary hit it off and would spend the next two months exchanging ‘essay-length’ text messages before meeting up again during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The Matildas opened their World Cup campaign against Ireland on Thursday, July 20, but on the morning of the game, Fowler and Cleary went for their first date.
Mary Fowler has opened up on her first date with Nathan Cleary, revealing the couple went for coffee ahead of Australia’s opening game at the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Cleary and Fowler went public on their relationship back in 2024, with the Matildas star revealing that they had bonded over long text messages
‘The night before our first World Cup match, you would’ve thought I’d feel quite nervous,’ she explained in the book.
‘But there was something happening before the game that I was way more nervous about: I was meeting up with my crush for the first time since we’d first met.’
Fowler added that she did not tell anyone that she was nipping out to see the Penrith Panthers star.
The Man City star, who has been sidelined for most of the year with an ACL injury, revealed that the pair went for a coffee before taking a stroll around Sydney. After their date, she went back to the hotel to prepare for the match.
‘Playing our opening game in Sydney presented us with the perfect opportunity, except I wasn’t sure if it was a smart decision, given I was about to start the biggest tournament of my career,’ she added.
Fowler started that game and helped guide the Matildas to a 1-0 victory against Ireland, with Steph Catley rifling in from the penalty spot.
With Sam Kerr injured, the 22-year-old forward was drafted into the Matildas attack during the World Cup and proved instrumental in helping the side reach the semi-finals, notably providing an assist for Caitlin Foord to help the side claim victory against Denmark in the Round of 16.
Rumours began to rumble that the pair had been dating, with the couple later going public in 2024.
Fowler would go on to help Australia seal a 1-0 victory against Ireland during their World Cup opener
Pages and pages of copy have been written about the couple since their relationship was confirmed. But Fowler and Cleary, who like to stay out of the limelight, made a pact that they wouldn’t read into what was being said about them
Pages of copy have been written about the couple since their relationship was confirmed. But Fowler and Cleary, who like to stay out of the limelight, made a pact that they wouldn’t read into what was being said about them.
‘Nathan and I made a pact not to read any more articles about us, so that our feelings wouldn’t be influenced by some stranger’s opinion,’ she said.
Fowler and Cleary now regularly share snaps of each other on their social media accounts, and while they live 16,000km away on opposite sides of the world, the couple were able to catch up in Liverpool, as Cleary spurred Australia on to a 3-0 series victory against England in the Rugby League Ashes.
‘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,’ she told Stellar Magazine, ahead of the launch of her new book.
‘Something I really appreciate in our relationship is that – although we’re both professional athletes – most of our talk about sport is the mental side. Nathan has been so helpful with that.
‘He is almost like a role model for me. I draw inspiration from what he does, because we are both such different athletes.’
Fowler also admitted that she was grateful that news of their relationship didn’t come out until after the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Prior to the tournament, Fowler had even contemplated giving up on her dream of playing professional football.
The revelation comes as part of Fowler’s new memoir ‘Bloom’, in which she opened up on her life in football and relationship with Cleary
The couple live on opposite ends of the earth, but managed to catch up during last month’s Rugby League Ashes
Her fame exploded following her exploits at the World Cup, but the down-to-earth City forward, who has spoken in the past about her dream of opening up her own coffee shop, stated that she had thought about moving back to Australia to live in a renovated van.
‘I thought about going back to school and moving back to Australia to be closer to family,’ she wrote.
‘I wasn’t even 20 years old, so if I wanted to jump into a whole new career, time was on my side. There were options aplenty.’
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