There were no goal posts or team cheers, but it was far and away the most thrilling match of Adam Cooney’s life when he married sweetheart Haylea McCann in a romantic ceremony beside Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach.
The Western Bulldogs star, who won the AFL’s ultimate accolade, the Brownlow Medal, in 2008, is revered as a tough man to beat on a footy field. But he showed his gentle side during an emotional wedding that also celebrated the couple’s bond with Haylea’s daughter Ashlea, 8, and their own 18-month-old son, Jaxon.
“After planning it for a year, by the time the big day came I couldn’t wait for Haylea to have the same last name as me,” the rusty-haired 24 year old says of his radiant bride, his partner of four years, who looked stunning in an ivory full skirted Baccini & Hill dress with jewelled satin sash. “Haylea is the warmest person with a vibrant personality, and the most loving mother.
She’s the centre of every crowd while I’m much quieter so we complement each other perfectly. Saying ‘I do’ was just the best moment because it meant that finally all of us would be joined up together.”
The heartfelt sense of belonging was apparent even in the midst of the love-filled nuptials, when toddler Jaxon tugged on his dad’s trouser leg to offer a handful of rose petals, and beautiful flower girl Ashlea, who suffered a stroke at birth, walked slowly but unaided up the aisle.
Mild cerebral palsy has limited her movement, forcing a reliance on a walking frame until recently. It was only when mother and daughter moved from Adelaide to Melbourne to move in with Adam four years ago that Ashlea began taking her first tentative steps.
“I wondered how Adam would go living with Ash fulltime as little girls can be cheeky but he was brilliant with her, and so encouraging,” Haylea, 27, recalls.
“He worked so hard with her every day, enforcing the physio routine and always pushing her to get up on her feet. Now that she’s walking she’s just a typical eight-year-old, and it’s all thanks to him. They adore each other and she calls him ‘dad’ – both my children are very lucky to have him.”
After the couple’s down-to-earth vows – Adam promised to let Haylea “sleep in twice a month and love you forever”, while Haylea pledged “to love and be true, and never make you do the dishes throughout our lives together” – the wedding party set off for the carousel of Glenelg’s iconic Beachhouse to let their hair down, kids in tow.
“Family comes first,” reflects Adam, the modest champion, as he hugs Haylea, Ashlea and Jaxon. “When you look at the people you love, football comes a pretty distant second.”
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