Football superstar turned runway model turned author, Mary Fowler, has started off 2026 with a bang, celebrating her relationship with rugby player boyfriend, Nathan Cleary.
The couple revealed they were in a relationship in 2023 and are going strong.
The footballer captioned the cute picture “Starting 2026 with the best dance partner”, to which Nathan playfully responded, “Hoping that 2026 brings some better dance moves…”
Read on for more about Mary Fowler and Nathan Cleary.
Who is Mary Fowler?
Mary Boio Fowler was born on 14 February 2003 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She is the middle child of five children.
She comes from a sporting family with Irish and Papua New Guinean heritage. Her father, Kevin, is from Dublin, Ireland, where her grandfather still lives. Her mother, Nido, is from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where they met.
Fun fact: her family moved to the Netherlands when she was about 11, where she learned to speak Dutch.
When did she begin her soccer career?
Mary played for clubs like Illawarra Stingrays and Bankstown City before signing with Adelaide United at just 16 years of age, with her older sister Ciara. However, she made her professional debut in her early teens and joined Montpellier in France in 2020, so it’s fitting that her fashion debut is also linked to France!
In July 2022, she moved to Manchester City to join Manchester City’s soccer team and compete in the English Women’s Super League.
When did Mary Fowler join The Matildas?
When Mary was 15 years old, she joined the Young Matildas Australia under-20s team and competed in the AFF Women’s Championship. She was the tournament’s highest goal scorer with ten goals, earning her the Golden Boot. And made her official debut for the Matildas later that year at the Tournament of Nations.
The Football Association of Ireland tried to poach her from Football Australia during that time, but she stayed with The Matildas.
FIFA World Cup
Mary was the youngest player for the Matildas in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but an unfortunate hamstring injury prevented her from making her World Cup debut. Mary went on to be an integral member of the Matildas for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, especially as Sam Kerr was forced to not play due to an injury. The first game of the season was Australia V Ireland, and Australia was successful. Australia made it to the quarter finals, and in the record-breaking penalty shoot-out, Mary scored the Matildas’ fourth penalty shot.
Olympics
Once recovered from her hamstring injury in 2019, she was selected to join the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and made her Olympic debut in a match against New Zealand. However, Australia were knocked out in the semi-finals against Sweden and missed out on a bronze medal thanks to a 4-3 loss to the United States.
She also went on to represent Australia in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
What’s Mary Fowler’s book about?
The Man City footballer released a book on 18 November 2025, Bloom: Creating a life I love. The novel is a memoir of her life. She describes it as “a bit of a keepsake journal for myself.”
Is Mary Fowler in a relationship?
Yes! Mary is currently in a relationship with Australian rugby league player Nathan Cleary. They started dating in August 2023.
He was the first subject of her Instagram photography blog.
Who is Nathan Cleary?
Nathan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league footballer. He serves as the captain and halfback for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and plays for New South Wales’ team and for the Australian side, aka the Kangaroos.
Scroll on for some of their sweetest moments together
New Year’s Day 2026
The couple shared a snap on Instagram about starting the new year together with “the best dance partner.”
Mary was spending time with family in Queensland during the holiday period. This meant they missed fellow Aussie footballer’s, Sam Kerr’s, wedding.
Christmas in Queensland
Nathan joined Mary and her family for Christmas celebrations in Far North Queensland.
The two wore matching outfits and looked like they were having a fantastic time.
Football Queen in Queenstown
Mary Fowler and Nathan Cleary travel a lot together. In December 2025, Mary shared a carousel of images and videos from the couple’s trip to Queenstown, New Zealand.
She also shared a sweet reel of the loved-up couple in an embrace, captioned, “A morning with my favourite person.”
Book launch in Manchester
While on a visit to the Manchester City footballer, Mary snapped this cute picture of Nathan holding up her newly launched memoir, Bloom.
Conwy Castle, Wales
Mary and Nathan explored Conwy Castle in Wales and took this cute selfie.
April sunshine
The couple enjoyed a respite from football with an afternoon with mates in the park.
February walks by the sea
Nathan came to visit Mary in Manchester, and the two braved the chilly February winds for a seaside stroll.
Whitsundays holiday snaps
Mary also posted a sweet holiday recap video of their trip to the Whitsundays:
Wholesome times
One of the first selfies that Mary shared of herself and Nathan. Simply captioned “Wholesome times.”
