Paul Brown
It only took one date for Kiwi basketballer Brayden Inger to know he’d found the muggle of his dreams. The Southland Sharks player was out with Southern Steel netball star George Fisher when she made a memorable quip referencing Harry Potter.
“We went to the cinema, got food, then I was like, ‘You could never be a Gryffindor. You couldn’t be a main character – you’re a Hufflepuff at best’, which is so rude!” laughs George. “But he went home and was like, ‘I’m gonna marry that one.'”
A Harry Potter fan himself, Brayden loved the good-humoured remark and as the couple, both 24, recount their love story to Woman’s Day, George is even wearing a Harry Potter Oodie.
So, will they have butterbeer at their upcoming nuptials? Plans are still in the works, but it’s undoubtedly going to be a party fit for the Great Hall as the couple bring together family and friends they’ve made from around the world throughout their successful sporting careers.
Brayden caught George’s attention playing for the Sharks.
Sports was in the genes for Auckland-born Brayden, whose dad played rugby, mum played touch and brother repped New Zealand in high jump. He has played for the Tall Blacks, the Cairns Taipans and is now with the Southland Sharks.
George in action for the Southern Steel.
George was, meanwhile, “sports-crazy” growing up in Hertfordshire, England. Keen on rugby and soccer, she exclaimed, “Ew, girly sport!” when a teacher suggested netball, yet it stuck. Soon she was joining England’s Roses and getting a sports degree.
She had just wrapped hotel quarantine in Aotearoa in 2021 and arrived in Invercargill to begin training with the Southern Steel when she saw Brayden at the gym. “I thought, ‘That tall, hairy one with tattoos is handsome!'”
Brayden also noticed George and asked her out for a game of frisbee golf via Instagram.
Heading instead to the movies due to rain, they quickly hit it off. Early into dating, they even walked past a tattoo parlour and spontaneously got each other’s initials inked. “We were foolish from the start!” laughs George.
Around six weeks into the romance, the basketball season ended and instead of returning to Auckland, Brayden shacked up with George.
“We dived into the deep end, then New Zealand went into lockdown and we were stuck together on a farm but had the best time,” says George. “We hung out, went for runs and planted trees. Then we gave each other tattoos!”
George inked a fish onto Brayden’s leg to represent her surname, while Brayden tattooed “three” (his basketball jersey number) onto George’s index finger.
The smitten couple haven’t looked back, but building a relationship while chasing demanding careers hasn’t been easy. Brayden notes it can be hard when one person’s upset about a game and the other is buzzing from a great performance. Time apart has been a “massive hurdle”, especially a seven-month stint where Brayden played in Australia and George returned to England for games.
“We understand with our jobs there’s times where we have to spend chunks of time apart,” says Brayden.
Adds George, “An athlete’s career probably only runs to 35, so for the next 10 years, we have to give it our all. Sometimes that will separate us, but after 35, we get the rest of our lives to annoy each other!”
While the couple had George’s finger measured just months into dating, she was taken by surprise when Brayden proposed during a magical three-month adventure abroad. Travelling through places like Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, they swam with elephants and scuba-dived around a Bali shipwreck.
But when a busker played their song, Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love, and George wanted to dance in the middle of the Kuala Lumpur markets, shy Brayden instead promised her a dance later. The two slow-danced back at their hotel, then George found Brayden on one knee.
The couple got engaged on holiday in Malaysia.
Having left the official engagement ring at home for safekeeping, Brayden presented a temporary Karen Walker “Runaway Girl” ring.
“He said this beautiful speech, then gave me the ring and went, ‘I’ve caught the runaway girl,’ because I’m always travelling,” says George. “I said yes, then ugly-cried. Then we did this 9km hike in the Cameron Highlands – through jungle and tea fields – and I fell down a hill and tripped so many times, I was like, ‘Now you’re trying to kill me!’ I still ask him if he’s sure. You haven’t changed your mind?”
“No!” insists Brayden.
The lovebirds are heading off to live in the UK for sporting opportunities but want to make NZ their forever home.
Spending their final weeks in Bali, they discovered a stunning villa, which they booked for their 2024 wedding.
“I’m so excited,” enthuses George, whose family met Brayden while spending Christmas in Aotearoa. “This sounds cringe, but Brayden’s my best friend and I love annoying him all day. I think marriage is about becoming one. We’ll both be Ingers, which is cool.
“And I want kids so bad. Brayden’s like, ‘Not yet’, and I’m like, ‘Shall we have a whole team? We can send them to the NBA!'”
While George is currently rehabbing a knee injury, she’ll take part in Roses camps in England before returning to NZ for the 2023-24 season. Brayden’s excited to join her in the UK, where he has picked up a basketball contract.
“We’ll probably end up in New Zealand long-term because I love how Brayden grew up running around in boardies, digging holes, playing with friends and being outside,” says George, who’s excited she’s been on our shores long enough that she’s no longer considered an “import” and could potentially play for the Silver Ferns some day. “We do all the things we love here – hiking, bike rides and road trips – so I see us ending up here.”
