Alex McKinnon has professed his love for his new girlfriend Lilly Malone with a new tattoo.
The quadriplegic former NRL star, 32, and his new partner, 22, took to their respective Instagram Stories on Friday to share a black and white photo of the fresh ink.
Taking pride of place on Alex’s arm is an artistic rendering of Lilly’s lips and the surprising tattoo sits directly above an outline of a chili.
Captioning the sweet snap, Lilly confirmed that they were, indeed, her lips.
‘@alexmckinnon’s newest addition = my lips,’ Lily wrote, adding a ‘lips’ emoji to augment the sweet sentiment.
Alex debuted his new romance with Lily back in March when the pair shared a loved-up pic to their Instagram pages.
He posted the picture of them both dressed in pink at Lily’s 22nd birthday party just hours before the NRL season opener kicked off in las Vegas.
Moments later, Lily, who is studying a bachelor’s degree in social work at University of Newcastle, debuted McKinnon on her own Instagram page, sharing the same photo with a love heart emoji.
Alex McKinnon as put a further stamp on his new relationship with Lilly Malone with a new tattoo
Alex’s new romance comes two years after splitting with ex wife Teigan Power.
Alex and Teigan’s love story captured the hearts of Australians when she pledged to stand by the NRL star after he broke his spine in a three-man tackle while playing for the Newcastle Knights on March 24, 2014.
He underwent operations to fuse his C4 and C5 vertebrae and spent five days in a coma before he was left wheelchair bound at 22.
Taking pride of place on Alex’s arm is an artistic rendering of Lilly’s lips and the surprising tattoo sits directly above an outline of a chili
The day after he woke up, doctors gave him the heartbreaking news that he would likely remain a quadriplegic and never walk again.
His girlfriend, who was only 20 at the time, vowed to support him throughout his recovery.
They had their first little girl, Harriet Ann, via IVF in 2018, followed by twins Audrey and Violet in 2021 before splitting in 2022.
Speaking to News Corp in March, Alex said that he is open to welcoming more children into his life.
‘When you go through a fair bit in your life and there’s a lot of change in your environment, you recognise that family is all you’ve got,’ McKinnon said.
Captioning the sweet snap, Lilly confirmed that they were, indeed, her lips. ‘@alexmckinnon’s newest addition = my lips,’ she wrote, adding a ‘lips’ emoji to augment the sweet sentiment
‘Going through a divorce, losing that element of extended family, and being single for an extended period over the last two and half years, it’s made me realise how much I love family and being around people that you love and care about.
‘The three girls have brought the most joy to my life ever, so I can’t see why having more wouldn’t be even better.’
The NRL star added he was still on good terms with his ex-wife, who has since moved on with new beau Jake Nelson.
‘Teigan was by my side through a really tough period in my life,’ he told the publication.
‘We’re still really good friends.
‘But as time goes on, it’s been 10 years since I was injured, people evolve, people change, myself and her, everybody evolves.
Alex debuted his new romance with Lily back in March when the pair shared a loved-up pic to their Instagram pages
