Aussie football superstar Sam Kerr has given a rare insight into his romance with US player girlfriend Kristie Mewis – including how they first met and fell in love.
Speaking this week to UK online publication Gaffer, the pair confirmed they first became aware of each other while playing for competing clubs in the National Women’s Soccer League in the US back in 2019.
The couple later sparked up a conversation via Instagram direct messages but, due to Covid restrictions, were ‘forced’ to get to know each other online.
They finally met up in person for what was an unconventional ‘first date’.
The loved-up pair confirmed they first met playing for competing clubs in the National Women’s Soccer League in the US back in 2020.
The football power couple were first photographed together at a friendly in Newcastle
‘It was about three or four months until we could hang out in person,’ Kerr said of her first romantic meeting with Mewis – a rival striker for the American national team.
‘The first time we ever met there was quarantine so we had to spend two weeks together the first time we met.
‘I was thinking if I don’t like her this is going to be awkward.’
But Kerr’s fears were unfounded. The pair fell head first in love in the lead-up to the 2021 Olympics where – following America’s defeat of Australia in the semi-finals – they were first photographed together.
Their on-pitch embrace made headlines as Kerr’s break-up from her former long-time partner – another US club player Nikki Stanton – has not yet become public.
‘The first time we ever met there was quarantine so we had to spend two weeks together the first time we met. I was thinking if I don’t like her this is going to be awkward,’ Kerr says of their first meeting
A late header helped Kerr draw Chelsea FC equal with Arsenal during a Women’s Super League match
Mewis led the USA in a friendly against New Zealand on January 8, 2023
Stanton went on to date Rachael Rapinoe, sister of US football captain Megan Rapinoe.
‘We didn’t share it for ages,’ Kerr said of her fledgling romance with Mewis.
‘Then it just got too hard to hide it.
I remember one time we were with some friends and some fans asked for a picture and then we thought we don’t really want this coming out from someone else. We want to be the ones to share it.
‘Once we told our friends it kind of started getting out there a little bit.’
Mewis was initially more eager to go public: ‘I was so proud that she was mine so I wanted to share it. I love her and I was so proud to be her girlfriend.’
‘We hid it from everyone because it is a private thing when you don’t know if it’s going to be serious,’ Kerr says
Mewis reveals that she was initially more eager to go public, telling Gaffer; ‘I was so proud that she was mine so I wanted to share it.’
Now almost two years into their high-profile love story, Kerr and Mewis have emerged as one of football’s power couples and have consciously made the decision to be ‘out and proud’ in both the queer and straight communities.
Their cross-global romance has also been heavily documented on social media with both women amassing hundreds of thousands of followers.
Kerr recently cracked the 1 million follower mark while Mewis has almost 400,000 of her own.
So far, they say, they have received nothing but support from both fans and their respective football clubs – Kerr’s Chelsea FC in the UK and Gotham FC for Mewis in the US.
‘We’re not private people. I like sharing my story. I like sharing who I am outside of football. Football is 5% of my life,’ Kerr says.
So far Kerr says she has received nothing but support from both fans and her club Chelsea FC
Kerr recently cracked the one million follower mark while Mewis has almost 400,000 Instagram followers of her own
‘We’re not private people. I like sharing my story. I like sharing who I am outside of football. Football is 5% of my life,’ Kerr says.
Mewis also said she loved sharing the relationship on social media.
‘I think just being out and being two girls in love, I think if we can change one or two people’s lives and the way that they feel about each other and how comfortable they feel, then that means a lot to me,’ she said .
‘So I think if we can change the way one or two people feel about themselves, they can look at us and see that we’re happy and we’re trying to be as successful as we can and we’re an out gay couple . I think that’s so important.’
The pair are now preparing to face off against each other at the 2023 World Cup kicking off on July 20 in both Australia and New Zealand.
‘We’re just raging for the next six months to the World Cup’, says Kerr, who will lead Australia’s campaign from July
The power couple embrace at a friendly in 2022
‘I love to share my relationship on social media,’ Mewis says of Kerr
‘We both feel like we’ve been gunning for this World Cup for so long now that it’s kind of going to be like we’re just giving everything for the next six months and then it’s gonna be like a breath of fresh air,’ Kerr said.
Mewis agreed: ‘It’s kind of finally hitting too.
‘I think we were talking about it yesterday, because it’s like, ‘oh my god’, 2022 is ending, and then it’s January, and then that’s the year of the World Cup. It’s just crazy that it’s coming so fast but it’s exciting.’
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