She may have stolen the hearts of Australia with her outstanding goalkeeping during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but for Matildas star Mackenzie Arnold, her heart lies solely with teammate Kirsty Smith.
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After joining the Australian Women’s League in 2012, Mackenzie went on to play for Perth Glory, the Western Sydney Wanderers, and Brisbane Roar.
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Following brief stints in Norway and Chicago, the 30-year-old made the move to London to play for West Ham United in the Barclays Women’s Super League and she hasn’t looked back since!
Whilst one would think representing Australia at the World Cup or being named captain of West Ham would be at the top of her list of highlights for 2023, it was actually Mackenzie’s off-pitch relationship with West Ham defender Kirsty Smith that was the icing on the cake.
The lovebirds first met in July 2022, when Scottish native Kirsty transferred teams from Manchester United to West Ham.
Fast forward to February 2023, and they had made things official via Instagram in a “soft launch” where Mackenzie shared a photo of Kirsty to her account in a carousel of photos.
“Favourite person,” Kirsty commented at the time.
After teasing their relationship to their followers in February that year, the couple began to share sweet snaps of one another to their socials, including a pre-World Cup getaway to Greece in June.
And as the World Cup kicked off in June, Kirsty was every bit the supportive girlfriend from the sidelines, cheering on her partner as she took to the field for Australia.
“Beyond proud of you! Nothing more special than watching you play on the world stage and live your dream. No one deserves this more and there’s so much more to come,” Kirsty captioned a photo of Mackenzie on the pitch.
“So lucky to have you,” Mackenzie commented in response.
Shortly after the Matildas’ spectacular fourth-place finish, and before the Women’s Super League kicked off in October, the soccer stars jetted off to Portugal for a “quick little recharge,” as Mackenzie wrote on Instagram.
A few months later they stepped out in style at The Best FIFA Football Awards in January 2024 where Mackenzie was a finalist for the Best Keeper category which was ultimately awarded to England’s Mary Earps.
“An honour to be part of such a special night and to be nominated amongst FIFA best. Big congratulations to everyone involved!” Mackenzie captioned an Instagram post.
“Proud of you,” Kirsty commented. Aww!
“30 has never looked this good! Life is so much better with you in it. Happy birthday my ❤️,” Mackenzie wrote in a heartwarming tribute to her girlfriend Kirsty on her special day in January 2024.
Unlike most relationships, Mackenzie and Kirsty have the unique challenge of balancing their work together on the pitch, with their romance off the pitch.
“When you’re in a team environment, you’re always going to be teammates, that’s just the reality of the job. But I don’t think in any aspect we try and separate it, it just comes naturally,” Mackenzie has previously shared with 9Honey.
In the same interview, the Gold Coast native revealed that any on-field drama “doesn’t ever affect [the] relationship.”
“Like any defender, if I needed to tell her something or she wanted to ask me something, it’s just part of the job.”
“It just comes naturally, I suppose. We can communicate how any other relationship does, it’s just quite normal…we enjoy it, it’s all good.”
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