Ellie Carpenter shares massive personal news after tumultuous time for Matildas star
The Matildas defender has continued the happy news for a number of teammates in recent times.
Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter has shared the heartwarming news that she's engaged to Lyon teammate Danielle van de Donk. Carpenter, 23, and van de Donk, 32, took to social media on New Year's Day to share the news, writing: “My person for life."
Van de Donk was wearing a sparkly diamond ring in the photo as the loved-up couple shared a warm embrace at the beach. Carpenter and Dutch player van de Donk have been together for about a year after they met while playing for French club Lyon.
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Carpenter has been at Lyon since 2020, while van de Donk joined in 2021. The pair won the Women's Champions League trophy together in 2022.
The engagement news sparked a flood of messages of congratulations from around the football world. Matildas players Sam Kerr, Charli Grant and Emily Gielnik were among the many to wish the happy couple well.
It continues a happy time for Matildas players in recent months. They became the first Australian side to reach the semi-finals (men or women) of a World Cup when they made the final four in August.
Kerr was recently engaged to American player Kristie Mewis, while Emily van Egmond also popped the question to influencer Kat Thompson. Katrina Gorry also shared the wonderful news that fiancee Clara Markstedt is expecting a baby, while Mary Fowler's relationship with NRL star Nathan Cleary has gone public.
Ellie Carpenter's wonderful news after nasty World Cup abuse
The news about Carpenter comes after a rather tumultuous time for the Matildas defender. The 23-year-old copped some nasty backlash after a lacklustre display in the World Cup semi-final against England in which she made a brutal mistake that led to a goal.
Socceroos great Craig Foster labelled the treatment of Carpenter "disgusting", and many other football fans hit out at the "vile" actions of online trolls. Kerr was among many of Carpenter's teammates to condemn the abuse and threw her support behind the young gun.
"You see it everywhere, in different leagues and different sports codes as well," Kerr said. "Obviously it's a problem. And I know a lot of people are trying to make apps and platforms to try and stop abuse and things like that, so that's good that people are aware of it and are trying to change it."
Carpenter said she tries not to let it affect her, and pointed out the massive attention the Matildas are receiving. "To be honest, I don't really read or look into that," she said. "For me, it doesn't really affect me at all. I do a job for my team and myself. It (social media abuse) is everywhere these days. And that just shows that the bigger you are or the bigger you get, the more criticism you get.
"I had a great support system around me during that time and just during the whole World Cup really. But it's just what it is. Like I said the bigger you are the more you get.
"You don't really have time to reflect and stop for a second, but I think it has been incredible to see the aftermath of the World Cup and what we have done in football in Australia and for women as well. I had a week off or so after the tournament and honestly didn't do anything, just chilled. And I guess that's our life - we can't really stop because you have your season starting two weeks after the World Cup and you have big games. It's just the life of the professional athlete."
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