Matildas star Ellie Carpenter announces engagement to Lyon teammate Daniëlle van de Donk
Footballers Ellie Carpenter and Daniëlle van de Donk have announced their engagement. (Instagram)
Australian footballer and Matildas star Ellie Carpenter has announced her engagement to her Lyon teammate and partner Daniëlle van de Donk in an adorable social media post.
Australian defender Carpenter and Dutch midfielder van de Donk ushered in 2024 by sharing a very sweet photograph of themselves at the beach on Monday (1 January), with a large ring visible on van de Donk’s finger.
“My person for life ❤️💍!!,” the loved-up post is captioned.
Carpenter, 23, and van de Donk, 32 – who herself plays for the Dutch national team – are both players for the French D1 Féminine club Lyon – which Carpenter has played for since 2020 and van de Donk since 2021.
They are believed to have been dating for around a year.
Carpenter and van de Donk were quickly inundated with messages of love and support from their fellow footballing stars, friends and fans.
“Congratulations,” England star Chloe Kelly wrote, accompanied by two red heart emojis.
Matildas’ captain and Chelsea star Sam Kerr wrote “Let’s goooooo” before adding in a second comment “Congrats guys xx”.
“FINALLY!!,” Lyon teammate and Canadian national team player Vanessa Gilles wrote.
“Congratssss,” also wrote Australia teammate Emily Van Egmond.
“My bbbbbbyyyyyys,” US team captain Lindsey Horan, who also plays for Lyon, also commented.
Ellie Carpenter isn’t the only Matildas star to get engaged to their partner recently
The couple’s happy news comes after other Matildas stars announced their own engagements in recent months.
In November, Kerr and her partner Kirstie Mewis – a US professional player – confirmed their own engagement.
The confirmation followed a number of weeks of speculation by fans.
Prior to that, Australian midfielder Emily van Egmond announced her engagement to Kat Thompson.
Australia’s Matildas reached the last four of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup last summer, losing out to England’s Lionesses in the semi-final.
The Matildas’ Women’s World Cup side boasted a total of nine out LGBTQ+ players, plus three reserves, tying them with Brazil as the squad with the highest number of out and proud team members.
England’s Lionesses were narrowly defeated in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final by Spain, who also boasted a number of out LGBTQ+ players among their ranks.
