It’s remarkable that Stuart Hogg continues to show such a glaring lack of self-awareness with regards to what has unfolded in his personal life over recent times.
In an interview published this week, Hogg claimed that his decision to retire in 2023 in an effort to save his marriage had been ‘the biggest mistake of my life’.
Speaking to The Rugby Paper, Hogg went on to explain how he had been ‘up to his eyeballs in anti-depressants’ and that he had been ‘using alcohol to escape’.
‘I didn’t know what was going on in life, whether I was making people happy or sad,’ claimed the former Scotland captain, who came out of retirement and returned to rugby last year with Montpellier.
‘I used to think being selfish was strength, but I took that too far. I hurt people. I know I’ll never be the same Stuart Hogg I once was, but I’m okay with it. I’ve found peace.’
Just to clarify, this is the same Stuart Hogg who, last November, pleaded guilty to a five-year campaign of domestic abuse against his now ex-wife, Gillian.
Stuart Hogg leaving court in January when he was sentenced to a one-year community payback order
Hogg warms up for Scotland ahead of a Six Nations match with Ireland in 2023
The Scot joined Montpellier in France last year after deciding to come out of retirement
Hogg subjected the mother of his children to a harrowing ordeal; bombarding her with dozens of unsolicited text messages, tracking her movements with phone apps and behaving in an abusive manner.
When you add all of that up, surely that would amount to the biggest mistake of his life? It shouldn’t even be a contest.
But Hogg just doesn’t get it. He fundamentally doesn’t understand or accept the seriousness of his actions. There’s no recognition of the living hell he put his ex-wife through over a prolonged period. No desire to take responsibility.
While he may well have had issues of his own, choosing to blame alcohol and anti-depressants was merely an attempt to underplay his own role in everything that happened.
When he was sentenced to a one-year community payback order earlier this year and spared jail, his former wife was highly critical of the outcome.
‘I feel like Stuart’s had absolutely no punishment,’ she said. ‘My first thought was, is that it? It’s not enough.
‘No sentence will ever be enough for all of the abuse, heartache and pain he put me through for years. It feels like that hasn’t been acknowledged.’
With the divorce now finalised and having reverted back to her maiden name, Gillian Smith deserves a chance to move on with her life and make a fresh start.
As for her ex-husband? He was, and remains, a disgrace. The complete lack of contrition shown on his part is mortifying.
Trying to rehabilitate himself in the public eye with an interview that amounted to a pile of self-absorbed, self-serving nonsense has only harmed his image even further.
