Patrick Carrigan dating Channel 9 journalist Bronte Gildea

Pat Carrigan is officially off the market with the love-struck Broncos star rekindling his romance with Channel 9 journalist Bronte Gildea.

It’s official. One of Australian sport’s most eligible bachelors is off the market.

Valentine’s Day has arrived at the perfect time for love-struck Broncos star Pat Carrigan, who has found his better half.

The sound you can hear is thousands of hearts breaking following the revelation Broncos hunk Carrigan is dating Channel 9 journalist Bronte Gildea.

Sport Confidential understands Gildea could be by Carrigan’s side when he arrives on the red carpet at Brisbane’s season launch on Thursday night.

Carrigan has rocketed to sporting stardom over the past three years following his rise from Broncos rookie to a State of Origin star who spearheaded Brisbane’s grand-final charge in 2023.

(L-R) Bronte Gildea and Pat Carrigan.

When Broncos players held a pre-grand-final fan day, thousands of young teenage girls flocked to Red Hill, with several screaming out: “We love you Pat” as he high-fived fans and signed autographs.

At most Broncos training sessions, it’s not uncommon to see scores of young females holding banners and waiting for pictures with Brisbane’s poster boys Carrigan, Jordan Riki and Reece Walsh.

Walsh may be regarded as the NRL’s most marketable figure since Andrew Ettingshausen, but Carrigan is only an inch behind.

Now, however, it appears Brisbane’s vice-captain could be ready to settle down.

The 27-year-old and Gildea have known each other for years. They met as teenagers and were previously an item before taking a break as Carrigan’s NRL career took off and Gildea had her own professional successes with Channel 9.

The pair reunited last year, with the bubbly Gildea a popular figure at the TV network where she is a sports presenter on the Gold Coast.

“I thought I wanted to do radio, but as soon as I got to be in the TV environment, in a newsroom where there’s so much happening - I just got addicted to it straight away,” Gildea said in an interview in 2023, the year Carrigan played in an NRL grand final.

“Presenting was definitely always the goal, and sport is something I’ve always loved.

“When the opportunity arose, it was just a matter of getting across all of the Gold Coast teams rather than the Brisbane teams that I’d grown up around.”

A former Brisbane resident, Carrigan moved to the Gold Coast and is loving life there, believing the glitter strip gives him the right balance between work and play.

A video clip of Carrigan went viral earlier this month when he was captured doing a ‘Shoey’ alongside Broncos teammates at the Luke Combs concert at Suncorp Stadium.

Carrigan was named Brisbane’s player of the year last season and is hellbent on snapping the Broncos’ 19-year premiership drought in 2025.