Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson’s pitch-perfect proposal

Retired Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson and Katie Martin got engaged in November. Photo / Phillip Castleton

One of the biggest moments of former Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson’s life took place on the hallowed pitch of Eden Park – New Zealand’s first win at a Fifa World Cup, with Hannah’s sole goal struck in front of thousands of sports-mad fans on home turf.

It was a moment that meant – and still means – a great deal to the football legend. But celebrating her minutes-old engagement to the love of her life while watching Coldplay rock out in that very stadium? Arguably just a little bit better!

“A lot of good things in my life have happened at Eden Park,” Hannah said with a laugh. “But look, I think we’ll draw the line at actually getting married there!”

Hannah Wilkinson proposed to her fiancee, Katie Martin, before one of Coldplay's November shows at Eden Park. Photo / Phillip Castleton

Chatting to Woman’s Day a few months after her romantic proposal, the now-retired Hannah, who lives in Melbourne with her fiancee, Katie Martin, is enjoying her post-professional athlete life as the pair begin to plan their lives together.

It’s a welcome change of pace from the end of 2024 when, along with getting engaged, Hannah announced her retirement after representing Aotearoa for a staggering 14 years, four World Cups, three Olympic campaigns and 125 caps for her country.

“Things are quite chilled now, which is nice,” says Hannah.

Government worker Katie adds, “The roles have kind of flipped – it’s me who now has far less time. But Hannah’s in the background planning her next moves. Now we actually get weekends together, go to brunch and walk the dogs, which are such simple things – but for us, it’s just everything.”

Like most modern-day love stories, Hannah and Katie, both 32, first met via their phones – a chance encounter on Instagram during the height of the pandemic. But, unlike most love stories, they have a former New Zealand Prime Minister to thank for their initial connection.

Hannah Wilkinson and Katie Martin first met on Instagram during the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo / Phillip Castleton

Katie says, “Jacinda Ardern bonded us – actually, we still need to thank her.”

Hannah explains, “We first met over Instagram in 2020, when I was in Germany. Jacinda had posted something about the importance of pride and inclusion and I was like, ‘What a legend of a Prime Minister we have’. So I reposted it. Katie then replied to my story and from that common value, we had what was an amazing intellectual discussion.

“So yes, thank you so much, Jacinda, for starting that chat!”

Because of the pandemic and Hannah’s international football obligations, the pair began a long-distance relationship without even meeting in person once – and it would be another nine months until they locked eyes on each other. But throughout their romance, both of them knew instinctively they’d found The One.

Hannah tells, “To date someone online for that amount of time says everything. Our minds connected and our values connected. Everything about her, I just connected with and when we finally did meet, it was like all the stars aligned.

Hannah Wilkinson describes herself and fiancee Katie Martin as "yin and yang". Photo / Phillip Castleton

“We’re quite yin and yang, but at the same time, although we’re different, we’re the same at our core. Katie is everything that I’m not – and I love that about her.”

Adds Katie, “The connection was so strong and it was there on every single level between us – emotionally, physically and intellectually. My favourite thing about Hannah, though, is her kindness. She’s the most humble person I’ve ever met and we all know how talented she is. But it’s the way she holds herself and leads in this world that I truly find admirable. I couldn’t say enough good things about her. She’s just my hero.”

Hannah knew for a long time that she wanted to ask Katie to marry her, but not being the planner in the relationship, she admits it took a while to figure out how to propose!

“Katie normally looks after the big plans. But this time, unfortunately, I couldn’t ask her, so I had to sort it myself and I’m not very good at this type of thing.”

But displaying a heap of romantic foresight, Hannah did manage to pull off an epic proposal, starting with designing Katie’s ring with the help of a Melbourne jeweller and based on designs Katie had previously liked.

“As soon as I got the ring, though, I wanted to get the proposal done,” says Hannah, laughing. “I hated having it on me – the stress! I was so worried I’d lose this ring. But I knew that I wanted it to happen at the Coldplay concert in Auckland. Coldplay is Katie’s favourite band and I’d scored some great tickets, plus it was also the day after Katie’s birthday.”

Meanwhile, an excited Katie had an inkling something was about to happen “because I’d never seen Hannah plan so much in her entire life”.

Former Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson and fiancee Katie Martin are now planning their wedding. Photo / Phillip Castleton

Katie says with a laugh, “I’d had brunch with a friend before we left for New Zealand and I said to her that I thought something was maybe about to happen, but I had no idea how or when. My friend mentioned that she thought it might be at the concert. Of course, after that chat, my entire TikTok algorithm became Coldplay proposals.”

Popping the question

Hannah almost proposed the night before, during Katie’s romantic birthday dinner. But after a quick chat to her friend, fellow Football Fern Katie Bowen, she realised popping the question on her partner’s birthday might not be a vibe. So she resolved to go through with her plans for the next day.

Hannah adds, “But I didn’t want to take the ring to the concert – what if I dropped it in the stadium when I was proposing?! And selfishly, I wanted to enjoy Coldplay without having the stress of the ring in my pocket.”

So before the pair set off to Eden Park from their hotel room, Hannah popped a Coldplay song on her phone, dropped to one knee and asked Katie, the love of her life, to be her wife.

Katie recalls, “She goes, ‘Katie, I want to ask you a question’. And I’m thinking, ‘Come on, we’ll be late’. But then I turn around and she’s on one knee with this gorgeous ring.”

And then, just like Hannah predicted, the ring ended up on the ground after slipping off Katie’s finger because it was a size too big. Luckily, it rolled under the bed rather than into a 40,000-person packed stadium.

Tells Katie, “It ended up being a really beautiful moment – just us – and then we were able to immediately go off and enjoy the concert as a newly engaged couple. Well, after we called everyone we knew and missed the first act.

“It was the perfect moment on the perfect night, with perfect timing and obviously, with the perfect person.”

Now the pair’s focus is on planning a wedding. Hannah, who’s also a talented musician and artist – she’s even painted a mural on the side of Eden Park – is revelling in life as a fiancee, former footballer and now fulltime creative whose work can be viewed at wilkscraft.com.

“I knew my life needed more balance before and now I have it,” enthuses Hannah. “I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do next, but I knew it would be a big transition. I’ve been seeing a psychologist about it all and I’m feeling really, really good. I can’t wait for what’s next.”