'We're each other's breath of fresh air.' Inside Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis' romance.

It's been several weeks since the Matildas' Sam Kerr had to be sidelined due to injury – but in the quarter-final decider against France on Saturday night, it was clear the star player is back and better than ever. 

ICYMI (which... you probably didn't) Australia won what was possibly the most intense game ever. *Drama!* And the roar from the crowd when Kerr took to the field in the second half was one of pure elation – for good reason. The sports star is much-loved by the nation, and with a large fan base, it's no surprise people have taken a big interest in her life.

On the field, Kerr has captured the attention of the world. But it's her soccer rival, American Kristie Mewis – whose team has also been playing in the Women's World Cup – who has had her heart for the past three years. 

The couple first met while playing a match against each other, where Kerr says she was being "a s**t stirrer" and her competitor Mewis was "getting so angry".

After finding each other attractive and following one another on Instagram, they decided to see if there was a spark. It was throughout the pandemic that Mewis and Kerr said they "were forced to talk" in order to get to know one another online. 

Watch: Sam Kerr gets interviewed by a young fan. Post continues below.

"Literally forced to talk. Instagram, just started talking. It was about three or four months until we could hang out in person," Kerr said to Gaffer. 

"The first time we ever met there was quarantine, so we had to spend two weeks together. I was thinking if I don't like her this is going to be awkward."

In 2021 amid the Toko Olympics, the pair went official with their relationship. 

Reflecting on the long-distance nature of dating as professional athletes, Mewis said it "obviously sucks" but they make it work.

"We always said it would be easier if we played in the same league because we would have the same winter break, we'd have the same summer break. But I think that when it is the opposite, she can come and see me after her season ends and I can come here for eight weeks in the winter. So it does end up working out," she explained.

Kerr has said that although long-distance is challenging, they each understand how important soccer is to both of them - and it's nice to be with someone "who gets it".

At the same time though, they both noted that talking about soccer non-stop isn't their thing.

"I feel like we're each other's breath of fresh air. We get it that we don't want to talk about it," Mewis said in their interview with Gaffer. 

"If I have a bad game or if I lose I always know that I have her. I think that's something that we always say, we always know in the back of our head that if things go bad or things go wrong, we always have each other."

It's their shared ability to have a laugh that Kerr said she loves most about their dynamic.

"My favourite thing about her is how much fun we have together," Kerr said on the Snacks podcast. "Like, we are literally just the biggest goofballs and we just have the most fun ever."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristie Mewis (@kmewis19)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sam Kerr (@samanthakerr20)

Recently, the pair featured in the six-part docuseries The Matildas: The World at Our Feet on Disney+ that captures the behind-the-scenes of The Matildas. And in the first episode, viewers said it was beautiful to see Kerr and Mewis' short but sweet interview together, where Mewis said she is very proud of all her partner has achieved.

"Being away from her is like one of the hardest things I have to do every single day, because she's such an important person in my life. She's my best friend - I want to do everything with her," Mewis said in the docuseries.

"Sam is very funny. She makes me laugh always. As a person, as a teammate, as a leader, she's kind of like the whole package."

As for now, the pair's teams will likely face off against each other in the Women's World Cup.

Speaking to The Oz recently, Kerr said that when their teams compete against one another, they go all out.

"When we play each other, we go in harder on each other. It's just so much more fun to go [play] against your friends, and especially her. There was one time in Newcastle we both went in for a dangerous tackle on each other. But that's the love of it, right? We can just banter afterwards," she said.

Reflecting on dating in the public eye, Mewis has said it's been overall really positive. 

"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. I love to share my relationship on social media," she said recently.

"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."

This article was originally published on July 21, 2023, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Instagram @samanthakerr20.

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