Love Stories: AFLW stars Emma and Kate had a heated on-field rivalry. The world didn't know they were dating
In 2016, Kate Shierlaw was introduced to two great loves of her life. She was invited to play in her first AFLW team and she met the woman who would become her partner - Emma Kearney.
A romance quickly bubbled and since then, Shierlaw and Kearney have navigated being both teammates and rivals on the football field while simultaneously nurturing their relationship.
But it was a relationship that long remained private, with it taking the couple three and a half years to feel comfortable opening up about it to the public.
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Kate Shierlaw and Emma Kearney have been both team mates and rivals while navigating their growing romance. Getty
It's been another three and a half years since they did so, and their relationship seems to be going from strength to strength.
Today, the couple are both teammates in the North Melbourne Football Club and enjoying life side-by-side both on and off the field.
It was during the ALFW off-season in 2016 that Kearney and Shierlaw first met. They were both playing for Melbourne Uni and the pair quickly grew a strong bond.
Kearney had been going through a breakup at the time and Shierlaw quickly became a great source of comfort to her as she navigated the heartbreak.
"I was going through a breakup when Kate arrived," Kearney told Adelaide Now back in 2021.
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Today the couple are both teammates with the North Melbourne Football Club and enjoying life side-by-side both on and off the field. Instagram/ @emmakearney89
"I relied on Kate a little bit, to have someone to talk about it, and I guess that's when we got that connection between us and one thing led to another."
Soon after, the two athletes started dating and they've been by each other's side every since.
Kearny and Shierlaw have now been together for more than seven years, but they didn't go public with their relationship until three and a half years in.
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It was in the lead up to a memorable AFLW game, where the pair went head to head as captains of opposing teams St Kilda and North Melbourne, when they decided to tell the world about their romance.
But it wasn't an easy decision, with both holding reservations about the homophobic response they might receive.
The pair first met while playing for Melbourne Uni and quickly grew a strong bond. Getty
"I was a bit hesitant at first but it's a special weekend," Kearney told Adelaide Now in an interview, opening up about their romance for Pride Week.
"I'm still not 100 per cent comfortable being out," Kearney added.
"That's partly my own thing, but it's also about society and the homophobia which still exists. Doing this interview is huge."
It is understood that Kearney and Shierlaw have been living together for around five years. Since then their golden retriever named Archie has joined the family.
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In December 2021, Kearney took to her Instagram with the news that she and Shierlaw bought a house together.
Today Kearney and Shierlaw both play as team mates for the North Melbourne Roos but that hasn't always been the case.
Today, the couple play on the same team but have been known to have heating on-field rivalries. AFL Photos via Getty Images
The pair have gone head-to-head as heated rivals on several iconic occasions. One particularly memorable one was in 2018 when Kearney, playing for the Bulldogs, and Shierlaw, playing for Carlton, went head to head.
While they hadn't yet gone public with their relationship, teammates knew they were seeing each other. But this didn't stop the pair from having a heated exchange on the field after Shierlaw barrelled into Kearney on the field.
"She was sitting under the ball, I led out from the square, I got there a little late, we both fell on the ground, she got up, came over and pointed in my face and said, 'You're a f---ing dog'," Shierlaw told Adelaide Now.
"She didn't speak to me for a week," Kearney added.
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