I dated Greg Bird for four years and he never hurt me Ex-girlfriend tells:
Caroline Marcus | September 7, 2008
THE woman allegedly glassed in the eye by Cronulla Sharks star Greg Bird has a fiery temper and is hiding the truth behind her scars, his high school sweetheart says.
Stacey Sulway, who grew up with Bird and dated him for more than four years before the relationship ended in November, said he was a "peacekeeper" who had never hurt her.
Ms Sulway, 22, said she was "gobsmacked" when she learned Bird, 24, had been charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on his American girlfriend, Katie Milligan, at his Cronulla apartment on August 24.
Ms Milligan, 24, moved to Sydney and into Bird's waterfront home two months ago after meeting the Cronulla Sharks and State of Origin player in Las Vegas.
Ms Sulway said Ms Milligan had a reputation for a bad temper. "She is a fiery person," Ms Sulway said. "There is a more to the story."
The Cronulla flight attendant said she could not believe the accusations against Bird, the Sharks, NSW and Australia five-eighth who has been stood down by his club and is due to face court again in October.
"The whole time we were together he was the perfect gentleman. He is such a calm, gentle guy," she said.
"It is just that out of character for Greg to do anything like that.
"When we were together, people would get into fights around Greg. He is just such a peacekeeper, the biggest mediator ever.
"On the field, he is a bit of a firehead, which is fair enough, [but] I have never known him to get into one fight."
Ms Sulway said her romance with Bird ended amicably, the pair splitting because they felt they were too young to be in a serious relationship and because of her new job with Qantas.
Shortly afterwards, Bird went to Las Vegas on an end-of-season football trip, telling her later he had "met somebody."
"I just thought it was a holiday romance," Ms Sulway said.
"A couple of months later he rang me to tell me he had a new girlfriend. I said, 'Good for you, babe'. [I thought] if she makes him happy, she makes him happy."
But she quickly learned that Bird was having trouble in his new relationship, with mutual friends telling her of public rows.
"I know that they were having problems," she said. "I thought that they were actually broken up."
Ms Sulway's own relationship with Bird made headlines in March 2006 when the player was accused of sending "rude" text messages to model Lara Bingle.
Ms Sulway said the scandal was the only time she and Bird had fought.
She said she had been in regular contact with Bird's sisters and his mother, Iris, since Bird was charged.
"He is obviously upset about the whole situation and quite depressed," Ms Sulway said.
Despite almost losing her eye, Ms Milligan has refused to talk to police and has vowed to reunite with her man.
Ms Sulway said: "If she was going to stand by him, she would have spoken to the police and defended him until she was black and blue in the face.
She is definitely hiding something."
Yesterday Bird's manager, Gavin Orr, said his client and Ms Milligan had no comment.
Ms Sulway said she did not rule out a future reunion with her ex. "Who knows what may happen?" she said.
