Last week there was speculation that the Matildas glove-wearing sweetheart Mary Fowler has been dating Penrith Panther’s golden boy Nathan Cleary. The rumours claimed that the sports stars went out for ice cream. But honestly, without any photos or solid evidence to back up this claim – aside from the pair following each other on Instagram – I wasn’t buying it for a bloody second. But now, my friends, we genuinely have proof that they’ve at least hung out. Colour me intrigued.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Cleary and Fowler were seen going on a lovely little stroll along the banks of the Nepean River in NSW. It claimed that the walk took place on August 8, two weeks after they were alleged to have gotten ice cream together after a promotional event for Adidas, a brand they’re both sponsored by.
The sneaky pic, which you can see here, was snapped by a cheeky local.
“We were going for a walk along the Nepean River when we saw them,” the Penrith local said.
“They were taking photos and talking with other locals, and walking up and down the Nepean River together for quite some time.”
ICYMI, the original dating rumours kicked off on August 23 after the Hello Sport podcast claimed to have seen an article in the paper about the date. They posted a snippet of the episode containing their speculation onto TikTok. In the vid, co-host Thomas Birmingham said that he read “again in the paper” that the sporty pair were spotted enjoying ice cream together.
“They’re both sponsored by Adidas and could’ve been doing a function together but if you have an ice cream with someone, that’s saying something,” he said.
“Unless they’re doing an ice cream commercial, they’re essentially dating,” co-host Eddy Simpson chimed in.
You can have a geez at the clip below.
While it was a juicy claim, at the time, I called bullshit.
I tried to find where these claims came from but to no avail. And as the media – I’m talking Daily Mail, News.com and even Perth Now – jumped on the ice cream date rumour with no pics or proof, citing Hello Sports as their source, I felt like the fellas at the poddy had pulled off a cheeky bit, completely fabricating a rumour for content a lá Woman’s Day.
But in response to a tweet that basically called them out for pulling tea out of thin air, they claimed that the ice cream date was reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday.
While there’s no trace of it online, often the tea in the printed paper is so fast-moving it doesn’t make it to the digital world so I’m giving them a pass.
Shortly after my mini-investigation, there were more developments.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a source from Cleary’s camp has denied reports that the sports stars are dating. Instead, they said the incident they spotted was “just ice cream.”
Can’t two hot, talented, top-of-their-game sports stars enjoy a cheeky lick of dairy together after an Adidas event without the rumour mill going wild? Apparently not.
This time around, I wonder if we can expect a statement saying it was “just a walk”?
While I think they’d be such a hot, powerful couple, if we’re being realistic the chances of these two sport prodigies getting together is pretty low. After all, Cleary is the prince of Penrith and Fowler works in the UK playing for Manchester City.
Oh well, who doesn’t love to dream?
