Former Demons captain Brad Green finds love with Caty Price after heartache
She’s the glamour girl featuring on Network 10’s racing carnival coverage — and also Brad Green’s new love after the shock death of his wife Anna last year. This is how Caty Price stole the former Demons captain’s heart, and how the races play a big part in their relationship.
Confidential
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When Brad Green and Caty Price made their relationship “official”, it filled them with nerves.
In ordinary circumstances, perception doesn’t matter, but these were no ordinary circumstances.
Green’s wife, Anna, had died suddenly in May last year, sending shockwaves through the close-knit footy community and leaving him to care for their two sons, Oliver and Wilba.
Green, a former Melbourne star who played 254 games across 13 seasons, and Price, a Network 10 sports reporter and presenter, attended their first event together in February at the Blue Diamond Ball at Caulfield.
It was a fitting coming out given they both share a love of horse racing.
But there was so much to consider.
What would people say? Would they be judged? Would anyone understand? Is it too soon?
“I think knowing the circumstances I went through, we were both nervous,’’ Green says.
“Is it the right thing, are we hurting people? There’s feelings on both sides. You have feelings for Anna’s friends and family and making sure everyone else is all right, but us, too.
“We did keep it quiet, it started slow anyway. This wasn’t a race into dating. It started as going out for dinner, catching up for a drink. Just taking our time. We didn’t need to start anything too quick because we both were sensitive to the situation that I was in.”
So when is it a good time to move on?
Green wanted to be sure before he publicly stepped out with Price. And he was, and still is.
They had met briefly at the footy at the MCG in early September, and then started to chat more at the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November. They met up one race day in the Channel 10 marquee at the races after Price finished her work duties.
“I had never met Caty,’’ Green says. “She was with a friend who came up to pass on her condolences.
“We chatted for a bit and I later saw a post on Instagram about the Demons winning and I commented saying it was lovely to meet you yesterday. That’s all it was until we saw each other again at the races. We then started chatting and connecting and it went from there really.”
Price was interested and wanted to get to know more about Green, but she was also cautious.
“Knowing the circumstances, your mind doesn’t go there straight away,’’ Price says.
“He happened to be in the Channel 10 marquee and seeing each other at the races again, it was just nice to have a few drinks and catch up.
“We treaded very carefully in the beginning, but he is hard to resist and then as things start to progress, you realise that he’s someone who is so genuine with such a kind and beautiful heart.”
Now as they sit together at home, emotions start to overflow when they discuss their relationship. More so because of their care for Green’s sons, Ollie, 10, and Wilba, 8.
Partly due to the onset of COVID-19, Price moved in with Green and the boys in May. She was renting an apartment in Richmond by herself, which seemed a waste.
“People probably judge us for moving in and moving so quick, but in some ways it was COVID that did that,’’ Green says.
“We didn’t plan this. Caty was living by herself and it was getting to the stage she was spending a lot of time here anyway.
“It was just the right timing, otherwise we wouldn’t have rushed it as quick.”
Price adds: “People will always question it and make their minds up but at the end of the day I know I’m here for the right reasons. Everyone has been largely supportive including a lot of Anna’s close friends and I can’t imagine it would have been easy for them.”
Green’s parents have met Price, and Anna’s mum has started to make contact. Price grew up in Perth and went back there for Christmas to see her mum. She moved to Melbourne four years ago.
The inability to travel has also been tough for Brad, whose dad is in Tasmania battling leukaemia.
“Caty still hasn’t met Anna’s mum and dad because of COVID,’’ Green says.
“Towards the end of last year when it all started, Caty went to Perth for Christmas and I went to Tassie with the boys. She was back to work in January and then COVID hit so no one can travel.
“Anna’s mum has got in contact with Caty and started connecting that way.
“My mum and dad have met Caty in February. Dad has only met her once. It’s hard going through what he has.
“He’s got leukaemia and has gone through three bouts of chemo and we thought we’d lost him a few times. He’s not out of the woods by any stretch but he’s gone through the last bout and I haven’t been able to get down there and see him.
“It’s hard with the boys, life isn’t easy, it’s challenging, but we’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Green says Anna is always at the forefront of discussions with the boys, and there’s many pictures of her around the house. Ollie and Wilba know who their mum is and Price is someone they have also grown to love. Price has also started to feel comfortable posting them on social media.
“Mum will always be around and in their lives and always talked about,’’ Green says.
“Their mother is their mother and I don’t ever want to take that away from them.
“Once they lost their mum, I never wanted them to grow up and live life without a mum.
“When they go to school and you have Mother’s Day and your mum does this and your mum does that, it’s nice that they call on Caty. Just for the simple things.
“With home schooling, every Friday Wilba had to do a cooking class and Caty was the one Wilba wanted to be there to cook.
“It’s just those things that are amazing for the boys. Caty is never going to be their mum but in some way they know she’ll always be there for them and be a motherly figure. You never know what you’re going to find in any relationship but they do love her and always ask where she is.
“That’s why I didn’t want to push things with us too much because if things didn’t work out with Caty and then their hearts get broken again.
“They’re only little kids and the last thing I want to do is hurt them. That’s why we had to make sure that if we were going to have a relationship we needed to be serious and do something with it.”
Price adds: “Anna is always going to be a part of their lives and it’s so important that she is. We always try to talk about her in general conversation and I try to ask the boys about her to keep those memories alive. Even if it’s in little ways like helping to cook things they remember having together or helping to make cards on Mother’s Day or her birthday.
“It’s a strange feeling because someone that you’ve never met becomes such a huge part of your life. It’s not how I pictured things working out but now I couldn’t imagine my life without Brad and the boys in it.”
Price was first introduced to the boys as a friend of dad’s and she recalls making an interesting impression after kicking two of their footballs over the fence next door.
Green, who runs his own commercial business, as managing director of GMH Fire and Safety Australia, enjoys going for walks with Price, grabbing a coffee and watching sport.
They are, however, looking forward to being a normal couple who do normal couple things.
Both of them will turn 40 next year and would love to celebrate together.
“My biggest thing was making sure that in the end it only works in our relationship if Caty can get on with the boys because it would make it bloody awkward,’’ Green says.
“There’s a lot of people who separate and they go between homes but this was a situation where they’d lost their mother.
“It had to come down to their situation and their feelings. In the end I didn’t do it the right way all along, I probably kept it under wraps from everyone. They all want to know how long it’s been going on but I’m not a person by nature who wants to hurt anyone. I want to do the right thing by everyone.
“It’s still early in our relationship and we’ve probably jumped in the deep end really quick.
“It’s a bit like speed dating and we’ve been forced to get to know each other quick. With COVID it’s like three years rather than six months. We are both working from home sometimes, and Caty can’t go see her friends, I can’t go see mine.
“The boys can’t go anywhere, we’re all in one house. Hopefully we can get back to being a normal couple and enjoying each other’s company. Every Friday we try to get a Providoor [restaurant home delivery] meal, have a date night, set a romantic dinner up for what you can do at home.”
One thing they are doing together is celebrating racing. They are friends of the Victoria Racing Club and Price will be trackside working each race day starting with Derby Day, the traditional black and white race day. She will feature on Network 10’s coverage all week through the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Green will suit up at home to get into the spirit and in between they’ll make school lunches, do cooking classes and help with homework.
Green has also just joined the board of his beloved Melbourne Football Club, which will give him another focus as he tries to help the team achieve success.
When it comes to Price he is proud of her achievements and he’s also sure she will be part of his future. After experiencing such painful loss, Green can confidently say the nerves are gone and he is happy again.
“When you lose someone you’re married to for such a long time, over 10 years and you lose a partner, and at nearly 40 … no one wants to be alone,’’ he says.
“Everyone wants to feel love, and to find someone that they connect and be with and live the rest of their life with. Sometimes you feel ‘yep, I’ve found it’ and then you go to yourself, ‘shit I’m never going to do that again’. Hopefully you do find it and I think I have, which is nice.
“We got to the stage where we were like, there’s no point hiding it anymore, we’re comfortable in our own skins and comfortable with where we are.
“Just be open and be happy. In the end you’ve got to say to yourself, if people are going to be critical that’s their issue, not ours. People should say as long as Brad and Caty are happy and Brad and his boys are happy, that’s all that matters.”
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