Earlier this year, NRL star Cooper Cronk announced he was leaving his team of 14 years, Melbourne Storm, to join his fiancé, Tara Rushton, in Sydney.
It was a decision that was met with shock and disbelief: why would such a highly-decorated player, a member of the Hall Of Fame of Rugby League, leave the sport and team that made him a household name behind?
For the 34-year-old sports star, the answer was simple: “There’s more to life than football.”
Cronk said Rushton, who is a Fox Sports presenter, had “worked really hard to get where she is” and he wanted to give her a chance to excel at what she does best.
And it seems the move has made the pair fall more in love than ever: yesterday afternoon, the couple – who dated long distance for several years before announcing their engagement earlier in 2017 – tied the knot in front of family and friends on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Some of Cronk’s current Sydney Rooster teammates, as well as those he played with in Melbourne were in attendance as the pair exchanged vows at Jonah’s restaurant, overlooking Whale Beach.