Matildas star Katrina Gorry has opened up about her awkward response to teammate Clara Markstedt’s ‘beautiful’ proposal, revealing the touching detail hidden behind their engagement rings.
Markstedt proposed to Gorry in June this year as the Matildas midfield jet prepares for the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia.
The couple met in 2021 when they were teammates at top-tier Swedish club Vittsjö GIK, and are now parents to Gorry’s daughter Harper, whom he conceived as a single mother via IVF in 2021 before the veteran 30-year-old made a surprising comeback to the national team.
The touching proposal, which sent the world of women’s football into an ecstasy of enthusiasm on social media, was as romantic as it gets.
With the stunning Swedish beachside city of Falkenberg as his backdrop, Markstedt went above and beyond to make sure the day was a very special one for the 93-game star Matildas.
Matildas star Katrina Gorry (left) confirmed her engagement to fellow footballer Clara Markstedt with a sweet social media post, saying “the best love stories never end.”
Gorry and Markstedt met while playing for Swedish club Vittsjö, and are now parents to the Matildas star’s daughter, Harper, completing the adorable family.
The midfielder will be essential for the Matildas in their World Cup campaign at home, which kicks off on July 20 against Ireland
There was a picnic with a lavish meal, card games and a touching video of their last year together, setting the stage for the big moment.
But Gorry, who will be one of Matilda’s most crucial players as they look to complete a World Cup fairy tale at home, admits she was completely shocked and inconceivably gave the wrong answer.
‘She (Markstedt) wrote me a letter, told me to close my eyes and got down on one knee. It was beautiful,’ he said Women’s Day.
“(But) I said no at first because I was in shock and then I was like, ‘Of course I am!
The couple announced their engagement on social media, with Gorry captioning it “the best love stories never end”; while showing off their impressive engagement rings, which have a very moving hidden detail.
Markstedt, who is a gifted artist and a gifted veteran in the top quality Swedish league, Damallsvenskan, chose two rings by transforming her grandmother’s diamond rings into rings, a Swedish tradition.
Gorry shows off her ring, which her now-fiancé made by turning her grandmother’s diamond rings into bands: a Swedish tradition.
The loving couple announced their engagement with a sweet social media post in June.
Gorry celebrates winning the Nations Cup earlier this year with his daughter Harper. She says that her lives have changed for the better because of Markstedt.
The couple plan to tie the knot in Gorry’s home state of Queensland on the tropical paradise of Hamilton Island in 2025, with her Matildas teammates, whom she calls ‘family’, expected to attend a ‘traditional’ affair. and beautiful’.
Facing life as a single mother for the first time, Gorry wasn’t exactly looking for love when she moved to Sweden to join Vittsjö.
She joked that Markstedt had sent a lot of “different signals” that she wasn’t picking up, before her mother flew in from Australia and pointed them out.
But it was obviously love at first sight for the Swede as she watched the doting mother raise her daughter Harper.
‘She (Gorry) was just the person I wanted to be with. It was obviously a package, but I loved them both. We became a team from the beginning,” said Markstedt.
After taking time to go through the IVF procedure solo and getting Harper Gorry’s back into the national fold has been exceptional.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘Mini’, the diminutive midfielder has a huge heart and will be a crucial cog in the Matildas engine room as she fuels the likes of Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord.
The Australian veteran (pictured taking daughter Harper to a game last year) has played 93 games for the Matildas and is destined to be a crucial cog in the team’s upcoming home World Cup.
And she credits a lot of that to her new fiancé, who has rounded out their now family of three beautifully.
“I’m very lucky to have the family support that I do, because I could never do any of this without them,” she said. Momentum at the beginning of this year.
“Having Clara has changed everything for Harper and me. He’s amazing with her and Harper loves her more than anything.
“It’s been tough some days, but it’s so gratifying to be able to do this and take Harper along for the ride.”
The Matildas will play in one final warm-up match against France in Melbourne this Friday, before the opening match of the World Cup kicks off on Thursday in front of a sold-out crowd in Sydney against Ireland.
