Australian soccer superstar Sam Kerr and Gotham FC midfielder Kristie Mewis may have once been Olympic rivals on field, but off-field, things are very different.
Rumours of a proposal have been circulating for months, and now we have official confirmation that the two lovebirds are headed down the aisle.
Mewis has spoken to People confirming their engagement, saying that Kerr has ‘”just been everything” to her.
“[She’s] My biggest supporter, always listening to me nag and complain all, all of my crazy antics,” she said.
Their relationship was first made public when the Aussie Matildas were defeated by Team USA at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 – the team later claiming the bronze in women’s football – and a sweet shot of Mewis, 32, embracing Kerr, 30, on the field sparked rumours of a romance. These rumours were eventually confirmed by the athletes.
Watch the video above.
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Some fans were convinced the couple had soft launched their engagement in September after Kerr posted a mirror selfie of the couple with Mewis showing off a ring on her left hand.
In another picture of the couple enjoying a day out on the boat, the American had her left hand above her head with the ring clearly in sight again on that finger, further pointing to signs that the pair had taken their relationship to the next level.
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“SOFT ENGAGEMENT LAUNCH???” one person wrote. “The pose with the ring on display was definitely on purpose,” another speculated.
“We all see that, right?” another fan asked.
On October 25, Mewis shared another snap to Instagram showing off what appears to be an engagement ring.
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But rumours that the couple had gotten engaged began after a video was shared onto the Instagram page for Gotham FC in early September, the team Mewis plays for.
The footage shows Mewis sporting what looks to be a new ring on her left hand.
Fans headed to the comment section in droves with questions about the ring.
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“Omg, is Kristie wearing an engagement ring???” one person wrote. “Not the ROCK,” another excitably noted.
Just a few days later, Mewis and Kerr were spotted her teammate Ali Krieger’s Instagram Story, but eagle-eyed fans were disappointed after seeing Mewis cheekily cover her left hand completely with the sleeve of her top.
In another picture, she used her hand to cover Kerr’s left hand as well.
These moves had perhaps the opposite effect however, fueling more speculation that the couple are indeed engaged.
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August 5, 2021: Australia’s Matildas lost 4-3 to the United States women’s soccer team, who went on to claim the Olympic bronze medal in women’s football.
Photographs of Kerr, Australia #2, and Mewis, United States #6, sitting on the field, chatting, smiling and embracing after the game quickly went viral, sparking romance rumours between the two.
Prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Kerr separated from her long-term partner Nikki Stanton. They had been together for seven years.
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August 9, 2021: Less than a week after their tender Olympics moment, Kerr confirmed her relationship with Mewis with a post to Instagram.
Captioning the candid shot simply with, “❤️ @kmewis19,” the soccer star shared a Polaroid photo of Mewis sitting on her lap as the pair kissed.
Kerr also shared a selfie of her and Mewis smiling together on her Instagram Story, alongside snaps of their accommodation in Miami.
Eagle-eyed fans were quick to scroll through the pair’s social media for clues as to when, exactly, the romance started. The sleuths noticed several flirty comments regularly exchanged between the pair since March 2021.
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August 20, 2021: Mewis shared a photo of the couple relaxing poolside with the caption, “Kerrching.”
Kerr is seen sitting on a floatie, holding a drink in one hand and Mewis with the other, as Mewis sits on her girlfriend and kisses her.
September 6, 2021: Kerr shares a series of selfies of the pair to Instagram, where they appear to be cuddled up on a date at Mother’s Bistro & Bar in Portland, Oregon.
“❤️🔥 @kmewis19,” was Kerr’s short caption.
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September 11, 2021: Mewis wishes her love a happy birthday with a series of photos showing the pair on a series of dates and relaxing at home.
At this time, Kerr had returned to the United Kingdom to play for Chelsea.
“Happy birthday to my favorite person in the whole world ❤️,” Mewis wrote.
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“Good thing you have a whole year to work on your two touch. Missing you my love xx,” she continued.
October 5, 2021: Mewis and Kerr reunited in London, with the couple commemorating the occasion with a sweet snap taken on a date night.
As what appears to be her habit, Kerr captioned the photo: “❤️🔥 @kmewis19.”
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October 16, 2021: Mewis was missing her girlfriend after the duo were once again put into the relationship territory of long-distance while they worked on their respective soccer careers.
Sharing a video to Instagram of the couple kissing, Mewis wrote, “Soon, I’ll get to annoy you again ❤️”
November 4, 2021: Mewis opened up about seeing Kerr at the Tokyo Olympics to Just Women’s Sports’ ‘Snacks’ podcast, saying the pair did find the time to catch up between their matches over coffee, as their team meal rooms were next to each other’s in the hotel.
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“I hadn’t seen her in so long, so of course it was like crazy that we were going to be at the Olympics together and crazy that we were going to be playing each other,” Mewis said of Kerr to the podcast.
“It was obviously so cool that she was there and that we were playing them, but also obviously with COVID-19 times and stuff like that … I couldn’t really see her that much. And it had been so long already – it had been months.”
Mewis also said that it is “confusing” having her sister and Kerr together at the same place, as Mewis’ sister is also named Sam – and Kerr’s middle name is May and Sam Mewis’ middle name is June, so even that’s similar.
According to the podcast, Mewis said, “You’re joking, right?!” when Kerr told her what her middle name was.
November 25, 2021: Finally reunited! Though off the field, Mewis and Kerr can be as loved-up as their hearts desire, the pair had to resume their on-field rivals status for a two-game series in Sydney in late November.
Two days before the first game, however, the pair didn’t seem too worried about their upcoming battle.
Sharing a shot of the couple laughing and holding hands, Mewis wrote, “Lucky.”
Kerr responded: “Even when I’m sick & don’t talk to you for 24 hours? ❤️”
November 27 to November 30, 2021: Although the United States’ women’s soccer team won the first match 3-0 against the Matildas on November 27, the two teams ended the second game on November 30 with a 1-1 draw.
Their on-field rivalry, however, did not seem to phase Mewis and Kerr, who took the opportunity to spend the time they had together Down Under to gallivant around Sydney.
December 4, 2021: Kerr and Mewis explored Sydney together, as Kerr shared a snap of the couple embracing with her ever-present heart and fire emojis.
“My love ❤️🔥,” Kerr captioned the shot.
December 27 and December 28, 2021: Mewis and Kerr appeared to reunite for the Christmas and New Year holiday period, sharing a series of shots together in late December.
Kerr posted a couples’ selfie taken in a bathroom, with the caption, “Hii❤️🔥.”
Mewis responded: “Hiii babe ❤️”
The American footballer, meanwhile, shared a snap of her own, where she’s wearing a green dress and heels and kissing Kerr, who dons an all-black ensemble.
“That’s actually a really cute picture of us,” Mewis wrote, to which Kerr responded: “Very cute my love, I’ll give you that 😍”
“Sportsmanship at its finest!” one Instagram user joked.
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2022: It was a big year for Kerr outside of her romance with Mewis.
The Aussie football star earned the title of Australia’s greatest-ever goal scorer, beating Socceroos player Tim Cahill.
She also became the first female footballer to be featured on the cover of a global version of FIFA.
The couple also celebrated Pride Month in 2022, their second as a couple.
January 2023: Kerr gave a rare insight into her relationship with Mewis during a candid interview with UK publication Gaffer.
She spoke about what it was like having such intense chemistry with a rival team member.
“It was about three or four months until we could hang out in person,” Kerr recalled of her first meeting with Mewis.
“The first time we ever met there was quarantine so we had to spend two weeks together the first time we met.
She added: “I was thinking if I don’t like her this is going to be awkward.’
February 2023: Kerr celebrated Mewis’ birthday with a gushing Instagram post.
Chelsea FC Women star Kerr shared some loved-up selfies of the football duo on social media.
“Happy birthday my love, can’t imagine life with out you. 3 years older than me don’t forget it x (& mac happy birthday),” she shared.
May 2023: The pair were still going strong with their two-year romance, with Kerr and Mewis regularly sharing new PDA-packed photos on Instagram.
Mewis has also been a staunch supporter of the Aussie athlete as her team Chelsea won the Women’s FA Cup. Kerr scored her fifth-ever grand-final goal during this match.
July 2023: Kerr and Mewis played on opposite sides at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup – but didn’t get in the way of their growing relationship.
The pair are still going strong as they enjoyed a long-distance relationship during pre-World Cup training, catching up via FaceTime.
Mewis shared a screenshot of a call she had with Kerr in an Instagram dump of recent photos, simply captioning it: “Details and my people.”
August 2023: After a tough month battling it out on the world stage in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Kerr and Mewis enjoyed some downtime.
Posting a series of photos to Instagram, Mewis captioned the loved-up selfies: “You and me x2.”
Kerr replied to the pictures with a similarly sweet sentiment: “❤️ You forever.”
She added: “Chronicles of hotels we’ve stayed at together continues x.”
September 2023: Weeks after the FIFA Women’s World Cup ended, rumours began swirling that Kerr and Mewis are actually engaged.
Footage of Mewis posted onto Gotham FC’s official Instagram page showed Mewis sporting what appeared to be a ring on her left hand.
“Omg, is Kristie wearing an engagement ring???” one person wrote. “Not the ROCK,” another excitably noted.
On September 25, Kerr posted a collection of pictures to Instagram including one of her and her girlfriend posing for a mirror selfie, looking loved up as ever.
But fans were quick to hone in on the large rock on Mewis’ left hand, adding fuel to the engagement rumours.
While the mirror reflection made it seem like the ring might actually be on Mewis’ right hand, a later snap shared in the same post by Kerr confirmed it was sitting snugly on that left hand finger.
Kerr posted another selfie of the couple, this time on a boat. In the photo, Mewis has her left hand resting on her head with the stunning ring clearly in view.
“Lushhhhh😍” Mewis commented on the post.
The American football player commented a second time, writing affectionately “Ily x” before sharing the boat selfie to her Instagram story.
”SOFT ENGAGEMENT LAUNCH???” one person wrote. “The pose with the ring on display was definitely on purpose,” another speculated.
“THAT RINGGGG WE SEE IT!!! 💍” a third person exclaimed.
Others were quick to offer their congratulations to the couple, assuming this was their “soft launch” to let fans know the rumours were indeed true.
Mewis confirmed the engagement rumours in November.
