The NRL and football superstars barely get to spend much time together because of their careers.
Nathan Cleary has revealed he’d love to start a family with Mary Fowler one day, but opened up on the difficulties of their long-distance relationship. Cleary is an NRL superstar who has won four-straight premierships with the Penrith Panthers, while Fowler is a star in her own right in the football world.
However Fowler spends the majority of her time in the UK playing for club team Manchester City. It means Cleary and Fowler hardly get to spend any time time together during their respective seasons, and Cleary has admitted it’s taking a toll.
“It’s been tough, it’s definitely not something that I ever thought I’d do,” the NRL star told Keegan Hipgrave on the ‘Keegan and Company’ podcast over the weekend. “I think it sort of helped for us that as soon as we met each other, and we sort of got talking, we knew it was going to lead down to that path and if we wanted to do it, it was going to be long distance.
“Sometimes you just get home and you want a little cuddle, but I think it’s helped us in a way to connect on more than just (on) a physical level and actually have genuine conversations. We just navigate around it and when we do see each other, it’s the best thing ever. You are really grateful for those moments we get to spend together. We’re constantly talking on FaceTime or whatever and we sort of find our way through that.”
Nathan Cleary hoping to start family with Mary Fowler one day
Cleary admitted he and Fowler have talked about becoming parents one day, but the nature of their careers and long-distance relationship makes it hard. Cleary is 27 and still has a large chunk of his NRL career ahead of him, while Matildas star Fowler is only 21 and just starting hers.
“It’s obviously tough that we are both pretty stuck into our sport,” Cleary said. “Definitely want to (have kids) in the future. I’d love for it to be with Mary, I just think she’ll be the best mother. But yeah, we’ll see. It’s not a rush at the moment but definitely in the future … post footy, I would love to have a little family of my own.”
Will Nathan Cleary move to England to be closer to Mary?
Cleary said he and Fowler make their long-distance relationship work by ensuring they keep in constant communication. He also said it helps they can relate to each other because they’re both in high-pressure environments playing professional sport
“When we’re together, we just enjoy each other’s company,” he added. “But it’s always that support and trust that if something is going wrong we can talk to each other about it and sort of bounce ideas off each other. It’s been really nice.”
Cleary and Fowler’s relationship has sparked speculation that Cleary might look to move to the English Super League in the near future to be closer to her. Fowler is highly unlikely to move back to Australia anytime soon as she played for one of the biggest clubs in the world, in the top league of women’s football.
Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher drew the ire of the football community after the NRL grand final when he suggested Fowler should move back to Australia so Penrith could retain Cleary long-term. And while Cleary said he doesn’t plan on moving to England ‘anytime soon’, it certainly shapes as the more likely option if the power couple want to see each other more.
Be the first to comment