Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice has revealed she is moving back to her home country for a life-changing reason – to get married.
The Olympic gold medalist, who has lived in Dubai for 11 months, confirmed her engagement to her pastor fiancé Mark Lassie in September.
She met Perth-based Mark shortly after moving to Dubai and popped the question at The Atlantis Royal Hotel in the city after seven months of dating.
However, Stephanie has revealed that she will be moving back to Australia to marry Mark, with whom she has been in a long-distance relationship, after completing her Masters degree.
Stefani, who went public with Mark in July, took to Instagram to share the exciting news, keeping followers updated on her big life changes.
The athlete shared a smiling mirror selfie from an elevator with packed suitcases on her way back to her native Australia.
She wore a comfortable white jumper with loose white trousers and looked relaxed but excited for her new journey.
She shared in a caption: 'Packing my things in Dubai, putting everything in storage, packing 2 suitcases, finishing my masters degree and leaving for Australia to get married… unimaginable!!'
Australian swimming star Stephanie Rice has revealed she is returning to her home country for a life-changing reason – to get married.
The Olympic gold medalist, who has been living in Dubai for 11 months, confirmed her engagement to fiancé Mark Lassie (both pictured) in September.
Stephanie, who recently became a Christian, is thankful for the recent changes in her life, saying that God has had a significant impact on her path this year.
'God has done a complete 180 in my life this year and I'm happier than I've ever been,' she added.
She shared her excitement for the future with her partner Mark as she ended her message by saying, 'He's so good.'
Last month, Stephanie confirmed the happy news of her engagement, just weeks after she and Mark first went public with their romance in July.
Aussie father-of-three Mark shared sweet photos of the moment at Dubai's luxurious Atlantis The Royal hotel.
The pair looked ecstatic as they shared a beaming ear-to-ear kiss as Stefani flashed her diamond sparkler.
She met Perth-based Mark shortly after moving to Dubai and popped the question at the city's Atlantis Royal Hotel after seven months of dating.
In one caption, Stephanie said: 'Here's to new starts and second chances… yes to a lifetime with you.'
She ended the post with a Bible verse: “'Seek your joy in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4.'
Their engagement comes just weeks after Stefani first went public with their romance in an Instagram post in early July.
Stephanie had been quietly dating the Australian pastor for five months before officially confirming her romance.
They were introduced through a mutual friend and have since started a long-distance relationship as Mark is based in Perth, while Stephanie moved to Dubai in November.
'When we met almost 5 months ago, we both knew it was different,' she gushed in an Instagram post alongside cozy snaps of herself and Mark.
Stephanie finishes her master's degree and heads to Australia to marry Mark in July (pictured during their engagement photoshoot)
'From the beginning, there was an intentional deep connection between us, and because of the complexities of our lives, we wanted to keep these first few months between close family and friends and experience the wonder of falling in love.
'But as God would have it, that first phone conversation seemed to us that this was where we were meant to end up,' he continued, before describing the long-distance romance.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Stephanie joined the church when she moved to Dubai late last year and is now heavily involved with the Kingdom City.
Mark is a pastor at the same organization in Perth and has been at the church for over 10 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Kingdom City was launched in Perth in 2003 and has gone global with branches in Africa, Europe and Asia in addition to the Middle East.
Stephanie had previously been romantically involved with ex-soldier Dane Christison, whom she had met in an Australian church.
The couple holidayed together in the US over Christmas 2023, but she publicly announced their split a few months later in May 2024.
