A one-word Instagram DM sparked Mackenzie Arnold and Kirsty Smith's secret romance
It's hard to believe Mackenzie Arnold and Kirsty Smith's romance began with a one-word Instagram DM back in 2022.
Today the Matildas' beloved goalkeeper and her West Ham teammate love are a sporting golden couple, but Arnold confesses to 9honey Celebrity that their romance was never supposed to happen.
"Neither of us were really looking for anything, but when we met, we just got along straight away," she says.
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Mackenzie Arnold and Kirsty Smith's romance began with a one-word Instagram DM back in 2022. Instagram
"It was just how any other relationship happens, I suppose. We just gravitated towards each other and got closer and closer from there."
It all began when Smith joined West Ham FC in 2022 and Arnold felt instantly drawn to the quiet, blonde-haired Scot.
Recalling the day they first met in her memoir Macca: The Story So Far, the goalkeeper wrote: "The minute I saw her on the first day of pre-season, I knew I was in trouble."
Arnold tried to play it cool, but in a matter of weeks she and Smith were trading playful banter on the field.
She knew there was something between them and she thought - hoped - Smith felt the same way, but both were hesitant. Finally, Arnold bit the bullet and sent Smith a DM.
"Coffee?" the Instagram message read. The rest is history.
"A couple of days after that, we went out for brunch and from then we were inseparable," Arnold wrote.
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"The minute I saw her on the first day of pre-season, I knew I was in trouble," Arnold wrote of Smith in her memoir. Instagram/Mackenzie Arnold
They took things slowly at first.
Arnold was recently single, Smith was new to the team, and they didn't want to cause tension on the field, so they decided to keep their budding romance a secret for the first few months.
"We're both quite private people and we just wanted to keep our business to ourselves until we were ready to, I guess, come out with it," Arnold explains to 9honey Celebrity.
"And we enjoyed it more that way, where we could just enjoy the time between ourselves and take it slow, take it out at our own pace, without any expectations or anyone else in our business."
She and Smith were both living with fellow West Ham players at the time (separately), so they got to know each other on long, private walks around London.
Somewhere along the way, they fell in love.
"We enjoyed it more that way, where we could just enjoy the time between ourselves and take it slow." Instagram/Kirsty Smith
When they finally came clean to the rest of the West Ham squad, "they were more than happy" for the new couple.
That was two years ago and today Arnold and Smith are more in love than ever, despite the fact that they're currently separated by eight hours, almost 6500km, and the North Atlantic Ocean.
In July, the Australian-born goalkeeper signed to the Portland Thorns FC and moved from the flat she and Smith shared in London to a new home across the pond in Oregon, US.
Mackenzie Arnold's memoir Macca: My Story So Far cover. Supplied/Penguin
Giving up the life she shared with Smith in the UK wasn't easy, but Arnold says that they've adapted to long-distance shockingly well.
"It's definitely different to what we're used to, but we've been doing quite well. It's come pretty easy to us," she says.
"When I wake up, I'll call her until I go to training, and then when I finish training, she's just going to bed, so I'll say good night. Whenever we have time, we'll be on FaceTime."
Being away from loved ones "comes with the job" as a professional athlete; Arnold knew that signing up and she's not going to let a time zone get in the way of her relationship with Smith, who she describes as her best friend.
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They still support one another from afar and while "it would be nice to be together physically", Arnold doesn't sound worried about the distance in the slightest.
"I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I still watch her games, she's still watching my games," she says, "and we tell each other everything".
That said, she can't wait to reunite with Smith in a few months' time for the holidays and have her within arms' reach for however long they get between each of their busy schedules.
"It's definitely different to what we're used to, but we've been doing quite well. It's come pretty easy to us." Instagram/Kirsty Smith
In the meantime, she'll be adapting to a new country, culture and team with her signature larrikin charm - even if some of her new neighbours don't quite get it.
"Being Australian, I'm very sarcastic," she laughs.
"I joke around a lot, and sometimes I think Americans are quite serious and don't really understand the sarcasm as much, so you have to be careful with that."
Macca: My Story So Far is available from Penguin Books Australia on October 8. Pre-order here.
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