Meeting each other at the altar, Matildas player Chloe Logarzo and her new wife, McKenzie Berryhill, were the picture of happiness as they finally tied the knot on November 13 on Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands.
The couple exchanged personalised vows in front of 65 of their closest friends and family.
In an exclusive interview with New Idea, they say the “beautiful day” was well worth the wait!
As they were getting married overseas, Chloe and McKenzie, 31, legally wed in the United States four months ago. This little detail came as a surprise to many of their guests!
“We did everything unorthodox in the lead-up,” Chloe, 29, tells New Idea.
“When I got my wedding dress, Kenny was there with her mum and sisters. I was also there when she picked her outfit.
“We walked down two separate aisles at the same time as we thought no one should be waiting at the end.”
Among their guests was Chloe’s Matildas teammate Emily Gielnik. The pair competed together on The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition this year.
Chloe and McKenzie say it was tough not to have “everyone they loved” at their wedding. Some of the Tillies were unable to make it due to football commitments.
The newlyweds had a few days to relax post-wedding before they returned to work – Chloe as captain of Melbourne-based side Western United, and McKenzie as a firefighter in Phoenix, Arizona.
They met in 2019 when Chloe joined the US-based team Washington Spirit, where McKenzie was also playing. There was an instant spark.
“Usually when we have international players come in, everyone bombards them,” McKenzie says. “I was like, ‘Oh man, this girl looks pretty cool she’s never going to remember me,’ so I never introduced myself. I thought I’d ruined my chances.
“I became the biggest coffee and wine drinker to try and impress her.”
Chloe interjects, laughing: “She doesn’t drink either! To be fair, not introducing herself made her stand out. She’s beautiful.”
While they were hesitant to date within the team “as it can get messy”, the couple say they kept their work and personal lives separate until McKenzie retired in 2020.
They got engaged in 2021, where Chloe happily admits she’d already begun writing her wedding vows!
“I’d read mine over 100 times and I could never do it without crying,” she says.
Amid wedding planning, starring on The Amazing Race, hosting on Optus Sport, and playing for a new club, it’s been a busy year for Chloe. She now plans to finish up the A-League season in Melbourne and fight to rejoin the national team.
“The last two years of me playing didn’t turn out the way I wanted – I missed out on the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics,” she says. “But missing those things gave me [opportunities] I’d never have done before.
“I’ve put football second for the first time in my life. I’m happy with the life and career I’ve had.”
Chloe looks at McKenzie and says with a smile: “We’re married – I don’t want to be spending more time apart from you than we already have.”
McKenzie adds: “I tell her every day – play as long as you want, live your dreams, there will be plenty of time to have kids.”
But as for championing her new life as an honorary American, Chloe says she’ll never don the US jersey.
She’s a Tillie through and through.
