Tony Armstrong and Rona Glynn-McDonald’s glam magazine cover debut

Tony Armstrong and his girlfriend have made their magazine cover debut, and finally lifted the lid on their private romance.

Tony Armstrong and his girlfriend Rona Glynn-McDonald have posed together for a glammed-up magazine cover.

The loved-up duo, who hard launched their relationship on Instagram in late November, feature in Sunday’s Stellar magazine, where they lift the lid on their private romance.

The ABC News Breakfast presenter, 34, had begun dating McDonald - who is a musician and the CEO of First Nations not-for-profit Common Ground - early last year.

It took them months of getting to know each other, and endless discussions regarding their nerves about going public, before they spontaneously decided to announce their status on social media one evening.

“I was really nervous in the lead-up,” Glynn-McDonald admitted.

“Given the way people speak about Tony as ‘Australia’s husband’ or ‘everyone’s boyfriend’, I was ready for the death threats. I was ready to break hearts.

“We talked about it for months and months and months, and it just felt right. We were sitting on the couch and we were like, ‘You know what? Now is the moment. Let’s just post something up and let them all know.’”

Tony Armstrong and Rona Glynn-McDonald have finally lifted the lid on their romance. Picture: David Caird

She added, “I’m really excited to show a bit of a glimpse of us. I feel really strong in us. We went out with a big splash at the end of last year after a long time of getting to know each other and thinking about when would be the right moment. We wanted to be really strong in us before we let the world know. And I think since then we’ve been pretty quiet because our relationship is sacred to us, and something that we don’t want to share everything about.”

Armstrong, for his part, was also fearful of sharing their relationship with fans.

The former AFL player’s star has exploded on local screens over the past few years, leading to his first Gold Logie nomination ahead of the awards in August.

The pair hard launched their relationship in November.

They said they discussed going public for months.

Despite his fame, and a reputation as Australia’s most eligible bachelor, Armstrong said he preferred to keep a low profile, particularly when it came to his private life.

“I don’t really do too many interviews and stuff like that, and if I do, I normally keep it about what I’m doing, not about me,” he said.

“I was nervous too, to be honest. It’s pretty weird having … well, not ‘having to’ – we didn’t have to do anything, but being in a relationship where it becomes a public thing. “I’m a bit nervous even talking about it in retrospect because I like my privacy as well. I’ve realised as I get older in the public eye, you can’t get it back. Once you’ve given that bit of you away, that’s out there, that’s gone.”

Armstrong is up for a Gold Logie this year, alongside Sonia Kruger, Andy Lee, Robert Irwin, Larry Emdur and Julia Morris. Picture: Richard Dobson

As for how they met, Glynn-McDonald offered, “Tony stalked me”, to which he responded, “Oh, p*ss off!”

Glynn-McDonald continued, “We realised after meeting that there were so many moments where our lives should have crossed many years before.

“Many moments – whether it was gigs, at the same place at the same time – but it never happened. I feel like it happened in the moment that it was meant to.”

Find more from Stellar via Instagram @stellarmag or pick up a copy inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA)