As Australia’s first-choice goalkeeper, Mackenzie Arnold became a fan favourite quite quickly during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
It wasn’t her first appearance with the Matildas, having played with them in the last World Cup and during the Olympics.
Aside from winning over the heart of the nation, it also appears the soccer star has a blooming romance off-field with Scottish football player Kirsty Smith.
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When Arnold signed to play with a club in the UK, she could never have known just how much her life was about to change.
That’s where she met her now-girlfriend and they’ve been together ever since. Despite dating since 2022, the duo only publicly revealed their relationship earlier this year.
Though the couple tend to keep things private, there’s quite a lot we know about their relationship – read on to learn more.
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July 2020: Arnold signs for English football club West Ham, and moves to UK to join the team as their goalkeeper.
July 2022: Smith joins West Ham’s team as a defender, coming from Manchester United, as Arnold extends her contract with the team. The couple meet for the first time and hit it off.
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December 2022: Before Arnold heads to Vanuatu for Christmas with her family, the pair celebrate the holiday together in London, both sharing photos from the same street full of fairy lights.
They don’t share any pics together, but Arnold comments on Smith’s post: “London suits ya.”
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February 2023: Arnold shares the first photo of Smith to her Instagram, in a carousel of photos from London. The girls are also seen hanging out with Arnold’s fellow Matildas including Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, and Steph Catley.
In a comment, Smith calls her girlfriend her “favourite person”.
When Arnold returns to Australia at the end of the month to play with the Matildas in the Cup of Nations, Smith comments on a photo of her in action, writing “What a keeper”, with the flaming heart emoji.
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March 2023: Their relationship becomes Insta-official, when Arnold shares a selfie of them hugging in a carousel of photos from the past month.
Her teammate Emily Van Egmond comments “soft launch”, referring to the sneaky couple photo.
April 2023: Smith shares a bunch of throwback photos, including one of the couple hugging under the Christmas lights she’d previously posted.
June 2023: The pair heads to Greece for a cute getaway ahead of the World Cup. In a photo dump shared by Arnold, Smith comments: “Love you” with a white heart emoji.
Smith’s parents also join them in Rhodes.
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July 2023: Arnold was in Australia playing for the Matildas, while Smith remained in the UK. They shared cute Instagram comments for each other, Smith writing “Ain’t I lucky” on a photo of Arnold walking on to the pitch.
Following the World Cup, Arnold would return to the UK to play for West Ham – but not before taking a few detours.
August 2023: Arnold and Smith enjoyed the sunshine in Australia and “made memories Down Under” according to Smith’s Instagram post.
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A carousel of snaps was posted to Smith’s account on August 29, featuring herself and Arnold making the most of their time down under.
“Making memories down under,” she captioned the photos.
Many featured herself snuggling up to her girlfriend while others showed off the star participating in the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb or hanging out with her dad, Tony Smith.
Fans were left in awe of the photos, many sharing their well wishes for the couple in the comments.
September 2023: The couple holidayed in Portugal together, one month before Arnold was set to return to Australia for the Olympic qualifiers.
“Quick little recharge in Vilamoura 🖤”, she captioned a series of snaps on Instagram.