The Aussie football star recharged her batteries with the help of her NRL champion boyfriend.
When Mary Fowler decided to step away from the Matildas and skip recent games against Brazil and Chinese Taipei, she flagged a desire to recharge her batteries with the help of family. And it looks like she used the break to take a getaway with NRL star boyfriend Nathan Cleary.
Cleary took to Instagram on Monday with a number of photos showing himself and Fowler in Burleigh Heads in Queensland. The superstar couple look as loved-up as ever, enjoying some rare time together.
Because of Fowler’s commitments with Manchester City in England, she spends the majority of the year away from Penrith Panthers champion Cleary in Australia. Her decision to take a step back and skip four recent games for the Matildas has appeared to work wonders, as she’s returned to Manchester City in fine form.
Fowler has played two games for the English powerhouse since returning from her break, scoring two goals. However the second game saw City lose to Everton for the first time in history.
When explaining her decision to withdraw from the Matildas games late last month, the 21-year-old said: “I’ve decided to take this time to prioritise recovery in order to refresh both mentally and physically, so that I can continue to put my best self forward for both club and country. Playing for the national team is something that I never take for granted.
“I have, however, through past experiences, come to realise that my mind and my body are also things that I should also never take for granted. I really appreciate everyone’s support and understanding, and I hope to see you all soon.”
Mary Fowler decision highlights changing women’s game
Fowler received praise for her decision to prioritise her wellbeing, rather than playing through whatever she was dealing with. As well as shooting to superstardom during the Women’s World Cup in Australia in 2023, she’s also in a high-profile relationship with Cleary that adds extra scrutiny and spotlight.
“That’s the way the game is going. There’s a lot more games, there’s a lot more demands on us to play,” Matildas teammate Caitlin Foord said. “I mean, this is where every female footballer has wanted the game to go.
“The scheduling – that’s obviously up to the leagues and the federations to discuss on how that should be, but for us to play and play games is all we’ve ever wanted. We have that support. We have the networks you need, if it’s mental, physical support you need, we have options for all of that. As it should be, everyone has that option to get the support that they need.”
Nathan Cleary’s sad admission about Mary Fowler relationship
Speaking earlier this month, Cleary opened up about how he makes his long-distance relationship with Cleary work. He also revealed he’d love to become a father at some stage – ideally with Fowler.
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. “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.
“It’s obviously tough that we are both pretty stuck into our sport. 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.”
