Bailey Smith will attend AFL’s Brownlow Medal ceremony with a regular mate rather than his Instagram-confirmed partner, Tammy Hembrow, after reports that their romance has cooled. The development comes as coverage of the night’s red carpet intensifies amid mounting headlines about the couple since they went public last month.
According to the Herald Sun, the Geelong midfielder will be taking a 'regular mate' to the league’s night of nights, not his glamorous new girlfriend. The report adds that Tammy’s budding romance may have cooled to the point where she will not be accompanying Smith to the event. An insider told the Herald Sun, "She’s definitely not going (to the Brownlow) with him." The disclosure underscores a shift in public focus from the couple’s Instagram-confirmed romance to the player’s professional priorities.
Tammy Hembrow and Bailey Smith publicly confirmed their relationship on Instagram in August, posting photos from a Melbourne date that signaled a new level of public visibility for the pair. Their outing included a visit to the ritzy Entrecôte restaurant in Prahran, where Smith rested a hand on Hembrow’s leg as they dined on oysters, steak and fries. Hembrow wore a pink dress from the Australian label With Jéan, while Smith chose a more restrained approach to the photographer’s gaze. The Melbourne date followed a string of sightings that fueled speculation about the couple’s status, including beach moments on the Gold Coast where they were seen kissing and strolling arm-in-arm.
The reports of a potential Brownlow date shift come amid broader questions about the couple’s timeline. In the weeks after the Instagram confirmation, the pair appeared to be enjoying the attention and the public romance. Yet observers and media outlets have increasingly noted signs of distance since the initial flurry of headlines. The Herald Sun’s latest account supports the notion that Smith will attend with someone other than Hembrow, suggesting the relationship may be entering a more private phase even as both individuals continue to draw media interest.
Tammy Hembrow’s personal life has also drawn significant attention in recent months. She split from her husband, Matt Zukowski, in June, after they had been dating for a short time before announcing an engagement in December 2023 and marrying in November 2024. The divorce announcement in June marked a swift turn in a relationship that had quickly become a fixture of public interest. While the timeline of their union was brief by some standards, the sequence — engagement, marriage, and eventual divorce — has been widely reported in entertainment coverage and followed by fans online.
As the Brownlow Medal ceremony approaches, the focus for many remains on the style and moment of the event, as well as the personal stories that intersect with AFL culture. The annual night of nights has long fused elite sport with high-profile social coverage, drawing attention to players and their partners in a celebrity-tinged spotlight. This year’s coverage reflects a shifting narrative around the Smith-Hembrow partnership, with official reporting indicating that Smith will attend with a non-romantic guest as discussions about the couple’s status continue to unfold.
What remains clear is that the Brownlow Medal, as a cultural touchstone within Australian sport, continues to attract public interest beyond the game itself. For fans and followers, the question isn’t only who will win the awards, but how the night’s celebrity headlines will unfold in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, Smith’s attendance with a regular mate keeps the focus on football achievement while allowing for a broader dialogue about how athletes navigate personal relationships in the glare of social media and a relentless press cycle.