Football Fern C.J. Bott announces engagement to partner Ryan Preston

Football Ferns star C.J. Bott has announced her engagement to partner Ryan Preston. Photo / @cjbott

Football Ferns star C.J. Bott and her partner Ryan Preston have revealed they are now engaged.

Taking to Instagram today, 29-year-old Bott and Preston made a shared post announcing the news.

Rose petals are seen scattered on the floor alongside a sign that reads “Marry me”.

“YES YES YES,” Bott captioned the post, while adding an engagement ring and red heart emoji.

Bott also shows a close-up of her engagement ring to her followers, while another photo shows the couple marking the celebration with a glass of champagne.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by CJ Bott (@cjbott)

Bott’s New Zealand teammates swooped in to congratulate them underneath the post, with Football Ferns midfielder Ava Collins and 23-year-old forward Indiah-Paige Riley expressing their good wishes for Bott and Preston.

Australian football players from across the ditch also congratulated the couple in the comments.

“I am so happy for you both,” Remy Siemsen commented on the post. “CONGRATULATIONS TO MY AUNTY AND UNCLE. Love you guys.“

Courtney Nevin praised the pair, writing, ”Yayyyy congrats," with two red heart emojis and a face holding back tears, while Mary Fowler wrote “Congrats you two!!”

Bott and Preston are currently based in Britain, and the footballer is signed with English Women’s Super League club Leicester City.

The Instagram page for Leicester City Women’s Football Club wrote, “Massive congratulations to both of you!” while UK footballer Ashleigh Plumptre commented: “OMFG I JUST GASPED SO HARD! YES YES YES! CONGRATS YOU TWO!”

Wellington-born Bott has played for the Football Ferns – the New Zealand women’s national football team – at several Olympics and Fifa Women’s World Cup games.

Bott had previously taken up a one-year contract with Norwegian club Valerenga in 2020. She shared her experiences playing for the club amid the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns with the Herald at the time.

Before transferring to the Norwegian club, Bott also spent two seasons in Sweden playing for Vittsjo GIK.