Aussie cricket star Ashleigh Gardner who blasted the sport over one of the country’s most sensitive issues marries the love of her life in stunning ceremony

• Ashleigh Gardner married her partner, Monica
• Couple have been engaged since April last year

By JAMES COONEY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 07:05 BST, 7 April 2025 | Updated: 07:05 BST, 7 April 2025

Australian Indigenous all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner has tied the knot with long-term partner Monica Wright in a stunning ceremony over the weekend.

Gardner, 27, who became engaged to Wright in April last year, took to social media on Sunday to post a single photo from the wedding alongside the caption: ‘Mrs & Mrs Gardner’.

The ceremony was attended by some of Gardner’s cricketing friends, including Ellyse Perry, Kim Garth, Elyse Villani and Alyssa Healy.

The wedding comes at a time when the cricket star has been making big waves in her pro career, having been recently appointed skipper of the Gujarat Giants in the Women’s Premier League.

Gardner also made headlines in 2023 when she called out Cricket Australia for scheduling a match on Australia Day.

She posted a statement on social media declaring it was a ‘day of hurt and a day of mourning’ for Indigenous Australians and said she’d rather not be playing.

Ashleigh Gardner and long-term partner Monica Wright were engaged in 2024

Gardner was scathing of the decision to schedule one of Australia’s fixtures against Pakistan on January 26 – the day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788.

‘Reflecting on what January 26 means to me and my people, it is a day of hurt and mourning,’ she posted on social media.

‘My culture is something I hold close to my heart […] and I’m always so proud to speak about whenever asked.

‘Unfortunately this year the Australian women’s cricket team has been scheduled to play a game on the 26th of January, which certainly doesn’t sit well with me as an individual, but also all the people I’m representing,’ she wrote on social media.

‘As a national team we have a platform to raise awareness about certain issues and I’m using this platform to hopefully educate others on a journey to learn about the longest living culture in the world.

‘When I take the field for this game, I will certainly be reflecting and thinking about all my ancestors and peoples lives who changed from this day,’ wrote Gardner.

Gardner later reflected on her stance and the backlash she copped for it,  

‘I knew when posting that statement that there was going to be backlash,’ she said.

The Aussie star (pictured with Wright), a proud Muruwari woman, spoke out against cricket bosses scheduling a match on Australia Day in 2023

Gardner took to Twitter to express her disappointment and made headlines in the process

‘I think I underestimated how much I copped. I try my best not to look at all that stuff, but I feel like it’s only human nature to read comments and things like that.

But she didn’t back down.

‘But I guess it was a moment where I stuck to my guns and I put that statement out there because that’s what I believed in,’ she said.

‘I just had to stay true to what I said, and I guess I’ve just tried to flip that and turn it into a positive and it’s sparked conversations.’

Gardner said in the days after she did question that she was doing the right thing in being as vocal as she was.

But the talented athlete said support from her teammates reinforced that she was better to be strong about her beliefs for the betterment of the cause.

‘So, I guess trying to take the confidence out of that and the support that I had from my teammates and support staff was huge because it was a couple of dark days there where I was like, ‘Why did I do that?’

‘So, I guess trying to take the confidence out of that and the support that I had from my teammates and support staff was huge because it was a couple of dark days there where I was like, “Why did I do that?”

‘But knowing that it was for a good cause and then just trying to take that confidence with that going into my cricket as well sticking to my guns with how I play cricket, and then how I act off the field as well, trying to keep them pretty close together.’

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Aussie cricket star Ashleigh Gardner who blasted the sport over one of the country’s most sensitive issues marries the love of her life in stunning ceremony

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