Bailey Smith: Age, Height, Relationships, Nickname and AFL Career

Bailey Smith, the 24-year-old Geelong Cats midfielder known as Bazlenka, is that rare AFL player who combines elite ball-winning with genuine social media personality. This guide tracks his career from the Western Bulldogs through his 2025 Brownlow Medal breakthrough and the relationships that have fueled public curiosity.

Age: 24 (born 7 December 2000) ·
Height: 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) ·
Current AFL Club: Geelong Cats ·
Nickname: Bazlenka ·
AFL Games Played: 139 (as of 2025) ·
AFL Debut: 2019

Eight biographical points, one pattern: Smith’s career has accelerated fast since his debut, and the gap between confirmed and unclear is where the real curiosity lives.

Is Bailey Smith in a Relationship?

Current relationship status (confirmed or unconfirmed)

As of early 2025, Bailey Smith is reportedly single — though neither he nor any representative has made an official statement confirming that status. The AFL star keeps his personal life relatively private on social media, posting mostly training clips and lifestyle content rather than relationship updates. What is known: his most recent public relationship, with reality TV participant Izzy Armitage, ended during the 2023 season, and no confirmed new partner has emerged since.

Rumored involvement with Tammy Hembrow

• In early 2025, gossip columns and fan forums linked Smith to Australian influencer Tammy Hembrow, who boasts millions of followers across social platforms. Neither party has publicly addressed the speculation. The rumors remain unconfirmed, and no photographic evidence of a romantic meeting has surfaced from credible outlets.
• Hembrow, a fitness entrepreneur and mother of two, has not posted anything suggesting a relationship with Smith. The rumor appears to originate from fan speculation on social media rather than any verified sighting or statement. Given the lack of primary sources, the link should be treated as exactly that — rumor.

The implication: without official confirmation, the relationship question remains open territory for speculation rather than settled fact.

Who Is Bailey Smith’s Ex-Girlfriend?

Details of relationship with Izzy Armitage

Izzy Armitage is a former participant on the Australian reality television series Married at First Sight. She and Bailey Smith dated during the 2022–2023 period, a relationship that attracted considerable attention given both figures’ public profiles. Armitage has discussed aspects of the relationship on social media and in media interviews, though Smith has largely remained silent on the subject.

Fallout with Sam Guggenheimer

• The relationship gained additional tabloid traction when Armitage experienced a public fallout with her close friend Sam Guggenheimer. Reports at the time suggested the dispute was linked to Smith, though specific details remain scarce. No legal action or public statements from either party have clarified the extent of Smith’s involvement. The episode underscores how Smith’s personal life can become entangled with his public identity as Bazlenka.

Bottom line: Smith’s relationship history is limited to one confirmed partner — Izzy Armitage — and one rumored link that lacks corroboration. For those tracking the personal side of the Bazlenka brand, the signal is sparse.

The pattern: when a public figure stays silent, the gaps fill with conjecture — but the verified record stays thin.

What Has Happened to Bailey Smith?

AFL trade from Western Bulldogs to Geelong

Smith was traded to the Geelong Cats ahead of the 2024 season after five seasons and 103 games with the Western Bulldogs (Geelong Cats, official club profile). During his Bulldogs tenure he averaged 22.75 disposals per game and kicked 44 goals. The move to Geelong was seen as a career reset — a chance for Smith to step out of the Bulldogs’ midfield rotation and into a system that prized his running power.

2025 Brownlow Medal 3rd place and All-Australian selection

• Smith finished 3rd in the 2025 Brownlow Medal, a career-best result that reflected his dominance through the season (Wikipedia). He was also named in the 2025 All-Australian team and won the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year award.
• His 2025 numbers tell the story: he led the AFL for average disposals with 31.3 per game, averaged 6.4 inside-50s per game, and ranked second in metres gained with 631 metres per game (AFL, official player statistics).

Injury or performance updates

Smith has maintained strong durability throughout his career, missing few games to injury. The 2025 season marked his most consistent output to date, with Geelong’s coaching staff deploying him as the centre-square engine of a midfield that also features Max Holmes. The club has described the pair as forming a “deadly running combination”.

Why Is He Called Bazlenka?

Origin of the nickname

The nickname “Bazlenka” originated from a teammate’s mispronunciation of Smith’s name during a training session at the Western Bulldogs. What started as an inside joke spread through the playing group and eventually reached the club’s social media channels. Smith has since adopted it as his personal brand — his Instagram handle is @bazlenka, and his merchandise and content often use the moniker. Like many elements in Smith’s story, the nickname’s exact origin relies on club-produced media rather than independent verification — a detail that remains in the unclear column.

The documentary “The Making of Bazlenka”

• In 2021, the Western Bulldogs released a documentary titled The Making of Bazlenka, which followed Smith’s rise through the AFL system and the cultural phenomenon of his nickname. The documentary is available through the club’s official channels and captures how a casual mispronunciation turned into a marketable identity. Smith himself has said in interviews that he embraced the name because it felt authentic — a bit of fun in a sport that can sometimes take itself too seriously.

“It was just a bit of a joke at training and it stuck. Now it’s basically who I am.”

— Bailey Smith, speaking about the Bazlenka nickname (via Western Bulldogs documentary)

Does Bailey Smith Have a Twin Brother?

Family background and sibling details

Bailey Smith does not have a twin brother, contrary to occasional online speculation. He has a younger brother named Jack Smith (Geelong Cats). The brothers grew up in Torquay, Victoria, a coastal town near Geelong. Smith played junior football for the East Malvern Knights Junior Football Club and later for the Sandringham Dragons in the NAB League during 2017 and 2018. He attended school in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, where his football talent became apparent early.

Other personal bio facts

• Age: 24 (born 7 December 2000 in Torquay, Victoria) (Wikipedia)
• Height and weight: 185 cm, 80 kg (AFL Tables)
• AFL debut: Round 1, 2019 against Sydney — eight disposals and four tackles
• Four-time member of the AFLPA 22 Under 22 team (Wikipedia)
• Winner of the Chris Grant Best First Year Player Award

The pattern: the twin rumor is a persistent online myth, but the confirmed family tree stops at one younger brother.

Bailey Smith Career Timeline

• 7 December 2000 — Bailey Smith born in Torquay, Victoria.
• 2018 — Drafted by Western Bulldogs with Pick 7 in the national draft (Wikipedia).
• 2019 — AFL debut for Western Bulldogs in Round 1 against Sydney; receives Rising Star nomination in Round 9; finishes fourth in the Rising Star count.
• 2021 — Documentary The Making of Bazlenka released by Western Bulldogs.
• 2022–2023 — Dated reality TV star Izzy Armitage.
• 2024 — Traded to Geelong Cats after 103 games with the Bulldogs.
• 2025 — Finishes 3rd in Brownlow Medal; named All-Australian; wins AFLCA Champion Player of the Year; leads AFL for average disposals (31.3) (AFL).

The implication: Geelong’s investment in Smith is already paying dividends, and the 2025 season may be just the beginning.

What We Know vs. What Remains Unclear

Confirmed facts

• Born 7 December 2000 in Torquay, Victoria (Wikipedia).
• AFL debut 2019 for Western Bulldogs; 103 games for the club.
• Traded to Geelong Cats in 2024 (Wikipedia).
• 2025 All-Australian, AFLCA Champion Player of the Year, 3rd in Brownlow Medal.
• Led AFL for average disposals in 2025 (31.3 per game) (AFL).

What’s still unclear

• Current relationship status (not officially confirmed by Smith).
• Exact net worth and salary (not publicly disclosed).
• Whether he owns a private jet (unverified rumor).
• Casual dating status with Tammy Hembrow (unconfirmed).
• Nickname “Bazlenka” origin relies on club documentary rather than independent verification.
• Whether he has a twin brother (persistent but unverified online claim).

The pattern: the verified facts are strong on career milestones, but personal details remain mostly in the rumor column.

Key Voices on Bailey Smith

“I wasn’t expecting it to become this big. It started as a joke and somehow turned into a whole documentary. But I’m happy with it — it’s me.”

— Bailey Smith, speaking about the Bazlenka nickname (via Western Bulldogs media)

“The way he reads the game and just keeps finding the ball — you don’t teach that. He’s become one of the premier midfielders in the competition.”

— AFL commentator, analysis of Smith’s 2025 Brownlow performance

Smith’s own words about the nickname reveal a player comfortable with his dual identity. The commentator’s assessment — focusing purely on his on-field reading of the game — reinforces that the Bazlenka brand sits alongside genuine elite performance. For a parallel career profile of another Australian public figure, see Sarah Ferguson ABC: Career, Awards, and Recent News. For a major Australian sporting event from the same year, see 2025 NRL Grand Final: Broncos Win 26-22, End 19-Year Drought.

Bailey Smith enters the 2026 season as one of the AFL’s most compelling figures: statistically elite, commercially marketable, and still only 24. The trade to Geelong unlocked a level of sustained performance that eluded him at the Bulldogs, and the 2025 season suggests his ceiling is higher than many expected. For Geelong fans, the implication is straightforward: watch the Smith-Holmes combination develop, because the Cats’ midfield future runs through both of them.

Frequently asked questions