Nathan Cleary has lifted the lid on his secret addiction and his battle in overcoming it.
The Penrith Panthers superstar is working on himself to become a better person and in doing so he’s looking to kick his habit of being on his phone too much.
Watch the 2025 Rugby League Ashes LIVE with no ad-breaks in play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
In today’s technological day and age, people have become glued to their mobile phone screens.
Cleary however is spending less time on his device, despite it being essential for his long-distance relationship with Matildas superstar Mary Fowler.
“I feel I am a better person, more present and my attention span is a lot better when I stay off my phone. It’s a constant battle,” Cleary said to Code Sports.
The 27-year-old says he would get lost in his phone by scrolling the time away on social media.
“You just find yourself scrolling and you don’t realise what you’re doing half the time,” he said.
“If I catch myself doing that then I will try and stay off my phone for a little bit.”
The Panthers halfback says it’s an ongoing battle, but spending more and more time away from his phone is helping to give him a clearer mind.
Read the full story on Code Sports
The change in mindset comes after he opened up on the factors preventing him becoming a father and his life as “Mary Fowler’s boyfriend”.
In a chat with The Sydney Morning Herald, Cleary was told a journalist had asked if the Panthers star was “Mary’s boyfriend”.
“Someone said that to me today as well,” he said with a laugh.
“Like ‘oh, nice to meet you, just letting you know I love your girlfriend more’.
“And I was like ‘yeah, same’.”
Cleary and Fowler began dating back in 2023, with rumours spreading like wildfire before the couple confirmed the relationship publicly the following year.
Cleary was asked if starting a family also crosses his mind.
“Yeah, it does,” he said.
“Like, that’s probably my biggest goal in life, to one day be a father.
“But it’s just probably not meant to be at the moment and there are still things that have to fall into place.
“We’re both in the middle of our sporting journeys and enjoying that.
“So when the day comes, I would absolutely love that.
“But yeah, it’s just not right now.”
While the glamour couple is happy to post photos on social media when they do get to spend time together, they are yet to conduct any interviews as a duo.
Cleary said that was a very deliberate approach in an attempt to stop the publicity machine getting out of hand.
“The footy stuff you just know that’s all part of it, but the private life stuff, that was probably a bit harder to adjust to,” he said about dealing with the media.
“But Mary and I both spoke about it, that we didn’t want it to affect the way we live our lives.
“A lot of those things are out of your control, so it’s about controlling things that are in our control and not letting it drain our energy and just taking it in our stride.
“I think both of us are naturally quite private and introverted.
“We’re also doing our own different things in sport, and we don’t want it to become just a big deal, like us as a couple.”
Originally published as Nathan Cleary lifts lid on his secret addiction and battle to overcome it