If ever a couple were meant to be together it's Brandon Jenner and Finlay Mcelhinney. To say that their union was fated is a bit much ... maybe.
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But after Mcelhinney messaged the Mountain Goats striker on Tinder, despite him believing he had deleted his account, a romance blossomed.
"We ended up catching up, and we've pretty much been together every single day since that night," said Jenner, who initially was not going to respond to Mcelhinney's message.
The Tamworth couple, who have been together more than two years, were engaged in February last year. No wedding date has been set.
After becoming and item, Jenner, 24, and Mcelhinney, 20, soon discovered an intimate shared history between their families: Jenner's mother, Jodi, and Mcelhinney's mother, Janel, were best friends while growing up together in Coonabarabran.
In fact, Jodi recounted to her son how she used to push little Finlay on a swing.
"We didn't know that for the first couple of weeks - we had no idea," Jenner said of the connection between the families. "Because Mum used to say to me, 'Bran, you can date anyone you like, as long as they're not from Coonabarabran.'"
But after learning of her son's then-fledgling relationship with Mcelhinney, she changed her tune.
"Mum said, 'Aw well, if I'd give you my blessing for anyone from that town, it'd be anyone from her family', because she's loved them all her life," Jenner said.
Jenner grew up in Sydney, chiefly at Greystanes in the west. He said he had a "rough" childhood.
"Me and Mum were hopping around from place to place, town to town. We weren't very settled," he said.
When Jenner was 18, Jodi packed up the family - including his younger brother Sean - and moved to Orange to join his elder brother, Dylan.
Jenner and Dylan were members of Australia under-15 and under-16 soccer sides who toured England at the same time. Jenner, a midfielder who played for Granville Rage, had wanted to become a professional soccer player.
Despite Jenner's sporting success, he said that Sydney got "too much" for his family. "It was a rat race. We couldn't find our feet."
Orange, however, did not agree with Jenner either. "I wasn't really happy with Orange. There wasn't much opportunity when it came to work. I want to excel in my life to my full potential."
It's been the best thing I've ever done.
- Brandon Jenner
So when Jenner was 21, the family moved again. "Me and Mum made the decision one day to pack up and move to Tamworth with almost no plan.
"And yeah, I can say that since I've been in Tamworth ... it's been the best thing I've ever done.
"I met my partner here, and I'm now engaged; I live in a beautiful house; I've got a dog; I've got a job I love to do [water regulator for the state]; I've got really good mates in town; I play for a team I respect heaps; and I have heaps of respect for the [Goats] boys. I cannot complain."
"It's definitely done a 360 - I'll tell you that much." he added, in reference to his life.
Jenner said Mcelhinney also moved to Tamworth for "work opportunities", leaving Coonabarabran to do so. She works at Tamworth Regional Council's water and wastewater department.
On Saturday, she will be sideline when Moore Creek play away to Demon Knights.
"Yeah, well, it's gotta be, eh?" Jenner said of their relationship being fated.
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