A stressed-looking Mary Fowler has paid her boyfriend Nathan Cleary a quick visit during her surprise trip to Australia amid signs that their romance could be facing difficulties.
The 23-year-old Manchester City star – who landed in Sydney last Wednesday – was photographed arriving at and departing the Penrith halfback’s home on Friday, as she leaves her fans wondering about the reason for her journey Down Under.
Fowler was wearing black when she was first seen at the Panthers star’s house, before changing into jeans and a blue top on her way out.
It’s not likely she has based herself at her partner’s house for the duration of her stay in Sydney, however.
A quick comparison of the luggage in Friday’s photos and the baggage she brought with her when she flew in to Sydney shows she only took part of her belongings with her as she visited Cleary.
Fowler and Cleary have both refrained from posting anything about each other on social media during her time in Sydney, and some recent changes in the way they interact on and offline have provided fuel for speculation about how their relationship is going.
Mary Fowler looked glum as she visited her boyfriend Nathan Cleary during her surprise trip to Sydney last Friday
The Matildas star wasn’t any happier when she left – and the baggage she was carrying told a story of its own
Fowler is currently rehabbing her knee after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament back in April – and is already getting around without a brace
Fowler hasn’t told her fans why she has made the unexpected trip Down Under
The Matildas star has made several trips to Sydney since going public with Cleary in November 2023 and he usually meets her at the airport – but he was nowhere to be seen this time.
Cleary’s absence isn’t the only unusual change to the dynamic of Australia’s most high-profile sporting romance, however.
The four-time NRL premiership winner has long had a set of paw prints on his Instagram bio, likely as a nod to the Panthers.
Fowler used the same emojis on her Instagram bio – but they disappeared recently.
Ever since they got together, the couple have regularly shared and liked posts from and about each other, but that has also changed in the last few weeks.
In an unusual change, Mary didn’t like Nathan’s raw post about the embarrassment he felt after NSW fell to a heavy loss in the Origin decider against Queensland, in which he referenced the ‘self-loathing and hurt’ that come with defeat.
Cleary has also dropped the ball when it comes to liking Fowler’s posts.
He last did so on June 6, when the 22-year-old posted a selection of photos, one of which featured her and Cleary, who commented, ‘Must be nice having a personal photographer follow you around.’
The Matildas star is pictured arriving at Sydney Airport last Wednesday. Cleary is usually there to greet her when she flies in to his home town
The stars’ social media accounts have recently featured signs that could point to a change in their relationship
That was the most recent time Nathan was pictured on her Instagram. She was last pictured on his account on May 13.
Fowler hasn’t revealed the reason for her trip to Sydney, but the timing has some fans wondering why she didn’t come down a week sooner so she could be there for one of the biggest games of her man’s career when NSW tried to win the interstate series.
She has previously explained that despite being born in Cairns, she shifted her allegiance from Queensland to the Blues because of Nathan.
In the past, Fowler has also gone out of her way to back him for big games despite being on the other side of the world – as she did by wearing a Penrith jersey to mark the team’s fourth straight grand final win last October.
A more cheerful detail to emerge from the most recent photos of Fowler concerns her comeback from the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
Unlike Sam Kerr’s recovery from the same setback – which has taken far longer than the year that was originally predicted – Fowler’s rehab appears to be going very well.
She wasn’t wearing a brace on the knee in the photographs, unlike Kerr, whose joint still needed that support when she went into camp with the Matildas in April, 15 months after rupturing her ACL.
Fowler has also posted videos showing her working on her rehab in the gym, featuring her jumping without discomfort in a great sign for fans who are desperate to see her return to the field.
‘I have recently made a conscious effort to think that I don’t have like a bad knee that needs to be fixed, but I’m getting an upgrade and I’m getting an even better knee,’ she said last month.
‘I have heard that a lot of girls when they come back … it can be up to a year to feel like probably normal again.
‘I feel like 90 per cent of that is going to be a mental block and so it’s something that I’ve thought about and been like, why don’t I just start changing how I think about it now already?’
