Former NRL player Luke Bateman has opened up about the addiction battle that nearly destroyed his life, revealing the rehabilitation stint he credits with helping him recover after years of depression and gambling addiction.
The former Canberra Raiders forward, who has since reinvented himself as a successful BookTok influencer and author, shared the deeply personal details during an appearance on the Mental As Anyone podcast.
Bateman revealed he is now 16 months sober after what he described as a final relapse at the beginning of 2025.
‘I had my last relapse at the very beginning of 2025, in terms of my addiction, it was a blip, like a minor blip on the radar,’ Bateman said.
‘There was something about that one. I woke up the next day and I just said, ‘I’m done’, and I felt it in my whole body.’
The 31-year-old said years of chasing rugby league success failed to fill the emptiness he felt away from the football field.
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Bateman explained that from a young age he convinced himself reaching the NRL would solve his problems.
‘Depression really came because I was always my entire life, ‘I’m going to make the NRL and once I make the NRL, then I’ll be happy’,’ he said.
‘Once I am an NRL player with fame and money and success, then I will be happy.
‘And then once I got that, I was like, ‘oh, nothing’s changed, I still feel hollow inside’, and that’s when the depression really kicked in.’
Bateman made 71 appearances for Canberra between 2015 and 2019 after rising through the club’s junior ranks and representing Queensland at under-20 level.
Behind the scenes, however, he said he was battling severe depression and a gambling addiction that gradually took over his life.
‘At the absolute worst of my depression and addiction, I would lie in bed crying for hours on end,’ Bateman said.
‘If I didn’t have training, if I didn’t have a commitment, I would lay in bed and just not get out of bed for an entire day.’
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Fans praised Bateman’s honesty, saying his recovery story inspired their own journeys
The former forward revealed his lowest moment came in 2020 when he found himself standing on the balcony of his Canberra apartment contemplating suicide.
‘I was on the balcony and I was hanging over the edge and I just thought, if I just let go, it’s all over, like all this pain,’ he said.
‘There was a part of me that stopped me, I rang my mum and I said, ‘mum, I’m on my balcony and I want to jump’.’
Bateman said his family stepped in to support him as he began seeking help.
Initially he believed he could overcome his addiction on his own, but after suffering multiple relapses he eventually entered rehabilitation.
The experience, he said, proved transformative.
‘It was great to be in there with people who actually understood. It just destroyed my ego,’ Bateman said.
‘I was an arrogant prick and I was very entitled.’
Bateman reflected on entering professional sport as a teenager and said the environment often insulated young athletes from the realities of everyday life.
‘You get told where to be, when to be there, what to bring, what you need, you’ve got someone nearly wiping your arse every day,’ he said.
Since leaving rugby league, Bateman has built a substantial online following through his book reviews and fantasy content, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers across social media.
He recently signed a two-book publishing deal and has become one of Australia’s most recognisable BookTok personalities.
Fans flooded social media with messages of support following the podcast appearance, praising Bateman’s honesty and willingness to speak openly about addiction, recovery and mental health.
‘Thanks for sharing man! I’m going through recovery myself and you’re such an inspiration,’ one follower wrote.
Another added: ‘You’re an amazing person, very humble and caring. Thank you for sharing your vulnerability and reminding that it is possible to feel better after giving up an addiction.’
Bateman said the structure he built during recovery remains a key part of his life today.
‘One of the blessings of destroying your life is that you get to start from scratch,’ he said.
‘I’ve really built a life that I love.’
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