As vice-captain of the Matildas, Steph Catley is nothing short of a national treasure –especially after scoring two goals during the group stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
All eyes have been on her personal life this year too, after she revealed back in January that her boyfriend Dean Bouzanis – also a soccer player – had asked her to marry him.
Catley’s professional career began in Melbourne, then played for a handful of clubs in the US Women’s soccer league, finally being signed to Arsenal as a defender in 2020.
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Bouzanis is also an accomplished soccer player, starting his career in Europe as a goalkeeper, before returning to Australia in 2014 to play for the Wanderers in the A-League.
The couple first met way back in 2016, when they were both playing for Melbourne Victory. Three months after chance meeting and a slide into the DMs, they moved overseas together.
It’s a modern-day love story – let’s dive right in.
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2016: Steph Catley begins playing for Melbourne City in the W-League; at the same time, Dean Bouzanis begins playing for the Melbourne City men’s team in the A-League.
Catley and Bouzanis have a chance meeting on the training pitch. Though they just had quick chat, there was clear chemistry, and as Bouzanis puts it, “one thing led to another”.
Catley revealed later that Bouzanis slid into her DMs on Instagram after she walked past him at a shopping centre and didn’t notice him waving. “I think he was just too shy to say hello!,” she teased. “So that’s how Dean and I started talking, and that’s how he got me hook, line and sinker.”
January 2017: The couple officially begins dating in January. “We kept it quiet at first, because it’s unusual for two people at the same club to start dating,” he said.
March 2017: However, just a few months into getting to know each other, Catley had to fly back to the US to play a season for Orlando Pride. Many Aussie soccer stars simultaneously play in US and Australian leagues, made possible by the opposite timing of the seasons.
Bouzanis took the leap, and flew to spend his off-season with Catley in the US while she played in Orlando.
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“That was only about three and a half months into our relationship, so it was a big move on his behalf that early on,” Catley revealed in an interview with The Atlantic. “But if he hadn’t done that, it probably wouldn’t have worked because I was in America for so long. At the beginning of a relationship, that’s probably too much distance without knowing someone that well.”
May 2017: Catley shares photos to Instagram of her and Bouzanis exploring Florida.
2018: The couple grapple with a long-distance relationship while Catley plays in Australia for Melbourne, and Bouzanis is on loan with a team in the Netherlands. They reunite at Christmas for a festive season at home.
March 2020: The couple are living together in Melbourne, riding out the COVID lockdowns together.
July 2020: Catley is announced as the newest player joining Arsenal’s Women’s team in the UK.
August 2020: A similar announcement is made, this time naming Bouzanis as the new goalkeeper for Sutton United, also in the UK. Phew. The couple won’t be separated.
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“Steph’s deal came up first,” Bouzanis later explained. While she was finalising her contract, he was dealing with the news that the A-League in Australia would be postponed for 2020.
Though Bouzanis had played for teams in England in the past, it wasn’t easy for him to find a new job and follow his girlfriend.
“I wasn’t at all expecting him to come with me,” Catley revealed. “We’ve always had a pretty good understanding in our relationship of making sure we both get the most out of our careers and if that means one of us is playing in a different part of the world for a certain amount of time, then we’re both very understanding about that, so I just wanted him to do what was going to be best for his career.”
But just as she was inking her contract, an offer came up and he took it.
September 2020: Bouzanis gushes about his girlfriend in an interview. “I feel like she’s not recognised to the level that some other players are and that’s crazy to me,” he says.
“I see her every day at training and she’s unbelievable. I knew how good she was but she’s gone to another level. She’ll be so embarrassed by me saying that too… she’s so humble.”
January 2021: Catley celebrates the couple’s four-year anniversary, with a sweet Instagram post. “Never a dull moment, don’t know what I’d do without you,” she wrote.
May 2022: Catley signs another contract extending her time in Arsenal, so the couple decided to continue living in London.
June 2022: The couple get a dog together, a golden doodle named Calvin.
July 2022: Bouzanis opens up about their relationship, saying how it’s special to have a partner who fully understands what it’s like to be an elite athlete.
“Being a footballer, you want to play in these big games and have these moments and to be able to share them together – it is special.”
“It is a great fit because we understand each other and what it takes, whether you have to go away, move clubs, you might have to do a bit of long distance, which we had to do at the start of our relationship.”
January 2023: Steph and Dean get engaged! He sets up an elaborate proposal, with a ‘Marry Me’ sign in lights, red heart balloons, and their dog Calvin in a little tuxedo.
July 2023: Catley returns to Australia to play in her third World Cup.
“It’s a home tournament for us, we are playing in front of so many young girls, young boys that will hopefully watch us and aspire to be female or male footballers in the future in Australia,” she shared.
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