Having hung up his rugby boots last November, former England star Joe Marler has made a successful transition to TV, quickly becoming a crowd-pleaser on The Celebrity Traitors.
Marler had an illustrious career in both club and international rugby, donning the England jersey on the Test stage and playing for Harlequins at club level. Known for his unconventional antics, he often found himself in some rather odd predicaments on the pitch, with some incidents crossing the line and landing him in trouble.
The loosehead prop is infamously known for receiving bans for two incidents during Six Nations matches against Wales. He was sidelined from the game for 10 weeks after grabbing opposition captain Alun Wyn Jones' testicles in 2020.
This incident followed a previous one in 2016 when he referred to Welsh prop Samson Lee as 'g***y boy' during a match, earning him a two-match ban and a hefty fine.
Despite these controversies, Marler continued to court trouble and in 2022, he was banned for calling an opponent's mother a 'whore' during a match.
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The player on the receiving end of this insult was Bristol Bears flanker Jake Heenan, whose mother - unknown to Marler - was battling cancer in hospital at the time.
Harlequins prop Marler copped a six-week suspension, with four weeks suspended, after his comment caused uproar among rugby supporters.
The 2017 British and Irish Lions star quickly seized the chance to apologise on his podcast 'Things People Do', disclosing that his wife Daisy was absolutely furious about his on-field behaviour.
"I've f***ed it all up again," he admitted.
"I'm really sorry to Jake Heenan and his family, the guy I insulted or tried to insult, and also to my team-mates, and to the club, because they must really now be at a point where they're like, 'here we go again'.
"At what point do you go, 'yeah, you can say sorry, mate, but just stop f***ing doing it?' I guess this is the point, is it? I'm much better at that when it comes to a bit of chat or a bit of sledging. I'm usually better than just calling someone's mum a whore.
"Usually, stuff like this is said. This is the norm. Now that may not be an excuse but is kind of a bit of a reason that you go, 'well, it's the norm, it's normalised'."
Explaining his wife's reaction, Marler continued: "She turned round to me after and she was like, 'f***ing hell, you're an idiot, aren't you? You're just a moron'. I went, 'what do you mean? I thought you're meant to defend me'.
"And she went, 'why am I defending you? That's not even a funny attempt. It's s***'. And I went, 'yeah, you're right, it is s***'.
"Then when I said, 'apparently, his mum's in hospital', she went, 'f***ing hell. You couldn't even double down even worse'. She went, 'why don't you just stop doing it? Or, if you feel the need to do it, just don't bring family members into it?'.
"You never know what's going on in people's lives and just because it doesn't affect you on the pitch doesn't mean it's not going to affect other people. Just f***ing get on with it'. And I was sitting there like, 'oh my God, that naughty schoolboy at the back of the thing'. And I went, 'yeah, I know you're right. You're absolutely spot on'."
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