- Glamorous pair are now set to tie the knot
The fiancée of Nicho Hynes has revealed why she ignored him while the Cronulla Sharks star was trying to start a romance with her.
Piper Wallis, 25, and Hynes, 29, got engaged in December last year after the 2022 Dally M Medallist popped the question on Sydney Harbour.
Wallis has now admitted she was scared of Hynes’ notoriety when he first began messaging her to signal his interest.
‘The amount of spotlight he has was a bit intimidating,’ Wallis told Stellar.
‘So I was brushing off his messages. But I work in the city and I get the train to work. One day, a big Kayo Sports billboard popped up at my platform with his face on it.
‘Every single morning for about a month, I would get off the train, see his face, and be reminded that I was being really rude to that guy.’
Nicho Hynes and Piper Wallis (pictured together) are one of the NRL’s most popular couples
Hynes’ fiancée (pictured) initially ignored him when he first pursued her
The couple (pictured) made their relationship public in 2024
Hynes is no stranger to the spotlight, having been one of the NRL’s marquee players since 2021.
But Wallis, who works as a social media content creator and make-up artist, had never experienced life with thousands of eyes on her.
The 25-year-old admitted Hynes’ calm demeanour caught her eye when the pair first got together.
‘I was very impressed when I actually spoke to him and felt even worse that I was so mean to him,’ she said.
‘He seemed like a nice guy and booked me in for our first date that night.’
Hynes and Wallis went public with their relationship at the 2024 Dally M Medal ceremony.
Despite being warned about the fanfare going public would attract, Wallis was still left stunned by the attention she received.
‘When I started seeing him, his roommate and his mum were both saying to me, people are going to care [about the relationship],’ she said.
Hynes (pictured) won the 2022 Dally M Medal after a stellar season with Cronulla
Hynes and Wallis are pictured just after he popped the question on Sydney Harbour
Hynes (pictured with Wallis) led his side to another preliminary final in 2025
‘I thought, there’s no way. But after the Dally Ms, a few stories came out and I was a bit surprised to realise people do actually care,’ Wallis said.
Despite leading Cronulla to a preliminary final last year, Hynes and his halves partner Braydon Trindall are under scrutiny from their critics before they’ve played a single minute of the 2026 season – and Nicho isn’t happy.
‘People want to say we’re the most under-pressure pairing, but I don’t know how that’s so,’ Hynes said.
‘There are a lot of halves partners out there who haven’t made a prelim in their career or haven’t been to one in a long time.
‘There have only been two halves pairings who have won a comp in the last five years and that’s the Panthers or the Broncos.
‘So realistically we’re doing a pretty good job, and now it’s just about taking it to the next level.’
Cronulla play the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday night to open their season.