Nathan Cleary goes solo at GQ Awards while Mary Fowler toils 12,500km away: NRL superstar hits the red carpet amid Matildas' struggles in Canada

Nathan Cleary dazzled on the red carpet on Wednesday night but he was noticeably lonely as his love interest Mary Fowler toiled in Canada. 

Cleary, 26, and Fowler, 21, went public last month after the Matildas star was pictured on an intimate date with the NRL hero in Perth. 

The halfback was later spotted attending the Matildas' win over Taiwan, with Fowler visibly delighted to see her new beau watching on from the stands before firing in a fine goal.

However, their romance has somewhat cooled since then, with Fowler returning to England to play for Manchester City while Cleary has enjoyed his post-season holiday in the United States.

Intriguingly, Cleary opted not to travel to Canada to watch Fowler play for Australia during the current international break, instead returning home to spend time with his family.

The Matildas have had a miserable two-week stay in North America, suffering back-to-back defeats to the Olympic gold medallists to end their season on a sour note.

'We did something really significant and left a legacy in our country,' captain Steph Catley said after their 1-0 defeat in Vancouver.

 'It's been a massive year for us and it kind of sucks to end on a bit of a low.'

Meanwhile, roughly 12,500 kilometres away at Bondi Pavilion, NSW, Cleary hit the red carpet in a suave all-black suit. 

The Panthers star grinned while being snapped but it was noticeable that he did not have Fowler by his side. 

Fowler recently posted a cryptic poem which described life's 'awful moments', with fans concerned it could be connected to her tryst with Cleary.

She shared a poem from renowned author LR Knost, which focused on the complexities humans face each day. 

Readers are encouraged by Knost to 'breathe in the amazing' and 'exhale during the ordinary' moments. 

Fans of the couple have been looking for signs of how they've been keeping in touch despite the huge distance between them.

Cleary and Fowler still regularly 'like' each other's posts on Instagram.