Matildas superstar Mary Fowler shares ‘big family’ plans with Panthers champion Nathan Cleary

Much-loved Australian footballer Mary Fowler wants a big family.

In fact, the injured Matildas superstar has shared details of her dream future, which includes lots of kids, a farm, and a “whole range of animals”.

The problem is she needs to convince boyfriend Nathan Cleary that it will be a “good idea”.

“I want to have a big family,” the 22-year-old said on the Keegan and Company podcast.

“The only dream I have at the moment is to be a mum and have heaps of kids and be in a space where they can play outside a lot.

“We can do the gardening and feed the animals together and to be able to run wild in the place; be in the mud.

“If I had the set-up for that, it would be a dream.”

Australia’s most favourite power couple both come from big families.

Fowler is one of five siblings, and Cleary is a big brother to three siblings.

“I would love to have two or three kids of my own and then adopt,” she said.

“I don’t know how many I would adopt, it’s a long process. But in an ideal world I would like to adopt siblings. I would bring all of them into the home.

“I really want to have a whole range of animals.”

The animals include a Great Dane, a cow, ‘little goats’, geese, and possibly a pig.

But she’s not sure if Cleary is on the same page.

“I really want to have a whole range of animals, like it’s very random, and I’m trying to convince Nath it will be a good idea,” she said.

But Cleary has previously admitted that a family with Fowler sounded like a good idea.

“It’s obviously tough that we’re both pretty stuck into our sport, but we definitely want to in the future,” Clearly said in December.

“I’d love for it to be with Mary, I just think she’d be the best mother.

“It’s not a rush at the moment, but definitely post-footy; I would love to have a little family of my own.”

Fowler and Cleary first starting dating in August, 2023.

Rumours started swirling after they were spotted having an ice-cream together.

Cleary was at first reluctant to admit they were an item, but the couple became Instagram official in January, 2024.

Fowler — who is in rehab after she was sidelined with an ACL injury that she suffered while playing for Manchester City — also made the interesting admission that the game was a job and she “genuinely” didn’t care about it outside of that.

“Obviously I enjoy playing football but I wouldn’t say it’s my passion,” Fowler said.

“I play it because there are a lot of things I enjoy about it — I really enjoy travelling, being with my teammates, the people that I’ve met through football, but if I finished it tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t have any regrets.

“I think there’s other things outside of football I am more passionate about. Getting injured... in my head I pull myself up at times like ‘am I supposed to feel more s*** about this, about what’s happened’.

“But I actually don’t feel bad about it.”