Mary Fowler is counting down the minutes until Nathan Cleary arrives in England – as she revealed the Aussie romance inspiring her.
The Matildas star, 21, posted a series of images on Instagram on Friday from the countryside.
Among the photos was a love heart, with the Manchester City ace clearly excited about the impending arrival of her NRL superstar boyfriend.
Fowler also showed her 437,000 followers she is reading Ellidy Pullin’s book Heartstrong.
The memoir was written following the death of Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin who drowned while spearfishing at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast on July 8 in 2020.
He was a two-time snowboard cross world champion and had represented Australia at three Winter Olympics.
It comes as Panthers coach Ivan Cleary revealed earlier this week his son Nathan will put surgery on hold so he can fly to the UK and spend time with Fowler.
Cleary was exceptional in the gritty 14-6 grand final win over the Melbourne Storm, with Penrith now winning the past four NRL titles.
Matildas star Mary Fowler is counting down the minutes until her boyfriend Nathan Cleary arrives in England
The Matildas star, 21, posted a series of images on Instagram on Friday from the countryside, and among the photos was a love heart (pictured)
Fowler also revealed she is reading Ellidy Pullin’s book Heartstrong, which she wrote as she reflected on the life of her boyfriend Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, who drowned in 2020
The superstar halfback endured problems with his shoulder all season, and revealed after the decider that he will need to go under the knife again soon.
But that has been put on the backburner for a couple of weeks so he can catch up with his girlfriend.
‘He’s heading overseas to see Mary, spend some time with her, and then he’ll get it done,’ Ivan Cleary told Seven at the club’s awards night.
‘I’ve met Mary….she’s a lovely girl and very mature for her age. They are very happy together, so that’s the main thing.’
Fowler wasn’t able to be at Accor Stadium in Sydney to see Cleary win a fourth straight NRL crown because she was about to take to the field for Manchester City in the Women’s Super League – but still kept an eye on the score.
Once her match was over, she posted a message to Instagram with the word ‘Him’ along with a fire and heart-eyes emoji above a photo of Cleary celebrating with the trophy.
After she played a starring role in City’s 2-0 win over West Ham by scoring a goal and setting up the other, Fowler posted the caption ‘A good weekend indeed’ alongside photos of her during the match and one of her wearing her man’s Panthers jersey and giving a double thumbs-up in the City dressing room.
Mary and Nathan began dating towards the end of 2023, with their relationship first revealed by Daily Mail Australia.
The footy superstar has been battling an injured shoulder all season – and has decided to delay surgery to be with his partner
Fowler posted this shot of her wearing her boyfriend’s jersey in the Manchester City dressing room soon after Penrith’s stunning premiership win
Since then they have become the premier sporting power couple in Australia with their social media posts attracting thousands of reactions from football and rugby league fans online.
That led to speculation that Cleary could be headed to the English Super League for the 2025 season, to be closer to his partner – but that was quickly shut down by the Panthers.
Cleary recently opened up about their relationship in detail for the first time, explaining how Fowler has changed his life, supported him and opened his eyes.
‘I’ve loved it, it’s all I ever could have dreamed of in having a partner, to be honest,’ he told Channel Nine’s Marlee and Me podcast.
‘It’s just added new perspective but it’s also added an extra layer there that when things are going good you want to share with them and want to talk about it and when things aren’t going good, they’re there too.
‘Super supportive and I’ve absolutely loved it. It’s just a great addition to life, to be honest, and made me really happy. Love wins.’