'Grateful': Stephanie Rice debuts new romance with gushing Instagram post

Stephanie Rice has gone public with her new romance, revealing she's been dating father-of-three Mark Lassey for almost five months.

The former Olympic swimmer, 36, shared a gushing tribute to her new partner as she made their relationship Instagram official.

Rice, who recently moved to Dubai, said the pair have been enjoying a long-distance romance and "both knew this was different" from the start.

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"When we met almost 5 months ago, we both knew this was different!" her post began.

"...Because of the complexities of our lives we wanted to keep these first few months between close family and friends, and enjoy the wonder of falling in love."

Rice explained that they didn't think the other would "be interested" when a mutual friend put them in contact, but they soon formed a close bond.

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"But as God would have it, that first phone conversation made us feel like this was exactly where we were both meant to end up," she said.

"Living halfway across the world from each other in different time zones has had its challenges (thank god for zoom) but God has been so good and so present in every step of our journey, which gives us an unwavering faith that our future will be even more extraordinary through Him."

She went on to say how "grateful" she was for their relationship.

"If there is one word that sums up how both of us feel right now, it's grateful. Grateful for God, grateful for Him bringing us together in His perfect timing, grateful for a fresh start.

"Grateful for the peace and strength we find in each other, grateful for loving friends and family, grateful for an amazing church and mentors supporting our journey, and most of all, grateful for each other."

Rice was previously dating 41-year-old former soldier Dane Christison, from Brisbane.

In December, Rice told her followers she met Christison through a church connection.

She confirmed their split earlier this year.

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