Former Black Stick Gemma McCaw has opened up about her early interactions with now husband, and former All Black Richie McCaw.<\/p>\n
On the Between Two Beers podcast, McCaw spoke about leaving Richie’s Facebook messages “on seen” after the pair had met at a community sporting event in Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Her nana had asked then Gemma Flynn to get Richie’s signature on a rugby ball for an All Blacks loving, terminally-ill 10-year-old boy. <\/p>\n
That challenge was what spurred the initial introduction between McCaw and now husband of nine years. <\/p>\n
“He turned around and I remember thinking ‘oh, you’re very nice…looking’.<\/p>\n
“I truly believe that my nana brought us together,” she said.<\/p>\n
Following the encounter, McCaw said she received a message from the former All Blacks captain right before the 2012 Olympics kicked off. <\/p>\n
McCaw said she was amused because Richie had a Top Gun Maverick profile picture. <\/p>\n
“I left him on seen because I never wanted anything to get in the way of that Olympics,” she said. <\/p>\n
To watch the full podcast episode, go to TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\n But Richie wasn’t deterred and tried to message McCaw again after she missed a penalty shoot-out in one of the last matches of the London Olympics. <\/p>\n “When I missed the shoot-out, ‘Maverick’ popped up again.”<\/p>\n McCaw spoke about some of the challenges the pair experienced in their early stages of dating. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"McCaw](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mccaw-spoke-about-some-of-the-challenges-the-pair-experience-5L5DUK6HQNC4BFRHU5J2WCFPZU.jpg\")
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