NRL star-turned-commentator Braith Anasta has revealed why he feels sorry for rugby league superstar Nathan Cleary over his romance with Mary Fowler.
Ever since Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed the sporting stars were an item, the power couple have been one of the biggest stories in Australian sport.
Anasta, who has also created his fair share of media headlines over the years, says he knows exactly what Cleary is going through.
‘I sat with Nathan at a GQ dinner, mid-season,’ Anasta told The Jimmy and Nath Show on Thursday.
‘What a human being he is. I was so impressed. We chatted away the whole night.
‘It’s really difficult for him, when you’re a young guy, or girl, like Mary.
‘They’re in love and they just want to live out the relationship like everyone else but they can’t.
‘There’s a lot of pressure on both of them. And it puts pressure on the relationship.
Footy star turned TV commentator Braith Anasta (pictured) says he feels for Nathan Cleary and Mary Fowler because of all the scrutiny they have to deal with
Anasta spent a whole night chatting to Nathan Cleary (pictured with Fowler) and came away ‘so impressed’ with the Panthers halfback
‘I feel sorry for him, because he just wants to play footy and he just wants to be in love and enjoy that relationship.’
Anasta went on to say that unfortunately, the attention from the media won’t stop because people are so interested in the couple.
The hosts of the show then joked that Anasta should ask Cleary to could propose to Fowler.
‘I’ll ring him now,’ quipped Anasta. ‘Or we will just start a rumour.’
Cleary recently opened up about what the media attention has been like and how he and Fowler are coping with it.
‘One day I was driving and I realised this car was following me,’ he told the Marlee & Me podcast.
‘Then I took a few turns, took a few turns, they took the exact same turns. I was pretty much in a car chase.
Anasta said the intense spotlight puts pressure on the couple and their relationship
Fowler’s commitments with Manchester City in the UK mean she can’t come down to Australia to support her man as he stars in this Sunday’s NRL grand final
‘That was, like, mind-blowing to me. I understand it, I guess, because people care [about the romance].
‘It all happened so quick, and now her relationship was in the public eye, it was hard to wrap your head around.’
Cleary also opened up about rumours that he staged the photos of him and Fowler cuddling in Perth, with the fact he was shirtless at the time fuelling speculation that he tipped off the photographer.
‘I swear to god I had no idea,’ he said.
‘Leading up to that, we were probably pretty blasé about how much people actually cared.
‘After the park we went back to the car and then we saw someone with the big camera there, and pretty much a couple of hours later it all came out.’
The pair first attracted attention as a potential couple when they were seen together on a leisurely walk along the Nepean River in Penrith in Sydney’s west last year.
They were then seen sharing an ice cream following a promotional event hosted by Adidas, a brand both endorse.
Since those Perth photos were taken the couple have shared many loved-up photos on social media, with Fowler catching up with Cleary whenever she’s been able to come back to Australia to either enjoy some down time from her work with Manchester City, or honour her playing and training commitments with the Matildas.
Recently rumours surfaced connecting Cleary to a possible move to play in England’s Super League competition in order to be closer to his partner.
According to what’s been described as outlandish speculation, the Panthers playmaker is looking at taking a year away from the NRL in a move that would send shockwaves through Australian footy.
However, that seems unlikely, with Panthers boss Brian Fletcher and Cleary’s manager George Mimis stressing that the idea has never been brought up with them.
