Stephanie Rice confirms relationship with pastor and father of three

Queensland swimming legend Stephanie Rice has gone public with a new romance, revealing she’s dating a pastor and father-of-three in a long-distance relationship spanning half the globe.

Queensland swimming legend Stephanie Rice has gone public with a new romance, revealing she’s dating a pastor and father-of-three in a long-distance relationship from her new home in Dubai.

A gushing Rice, 36, took to Instagram at the weekend to reveal she had been in a near-five-month relationship with Mark Lassey, a pastor with the Kingdomcity church in Perth.

It comes just over a month after the triple Olympic gold medallist and born-again Christian told her nearly 150,000 followers she had split with former boyfriend Dane Christison, who she started seeing soon after her shock move to Dubai last December to start a new life.

Rice shared romantic pics and a video of her and Lassey together, including one with his three young adult sons.

Instagram image of Stephanie Rice with her new partner Mark Lassey.

“When we met almost 5 months ago, we both knew this was different!” Rice said of her relationship with Lassey.

“From the start, there was a deep intention between us, and because of the complexities of our lives we wanted to keep these first few months between close family and friends, and enjoy the wonder of falling in love.

“We come from such different backgrounds, so when a mutual friend saw the potential and connected us, we were both pretty unsure the other would be interested … not to mention the fact we live on opposite sides of the globe. But as God would have it, that first phone conversation made us feel like this was exactly where we were both meant to end up.

“Since then, we’ve been so blessed that our work has taken us around the world, allowing us to spend a few days together either side of our commitments, hanging out in different cities, meeting each other’s friends and family, and discovering what a life together will look like.”

Rice said living halfway across the world from each other in different time zones “has had its challenges … (thank god for zoom)”.

Stephanie Rice says she and new partner Mark Lassey face challenges due to their locations on opposite sides of the world.

“But God has been so good and so present in every step of our journey, which gives us an unwavering faith that our future will be even more extraordinary through Him,” she posted.

“If there is one word that sums up how both of us feel right now, it’s grateful. Grateful for God, grateful for Him bringing us together in His perfect timing, grateful for a fresh start, grateful for the peace and strength we find in each other, grateful for loving friends and family, grateful for an amazing church and mentors supporting our journey, and most of all, grateful for each other.”

Rice was lashed online after posting a tearful Instagram video, which appeared to have been filmed on a first-class flight, relocating to Dubai last December.