Stuart Hogg's departure from the Scotland squad has been shrouded in controversy, with a secret lover claiming his boozy, womanising lifestyle was to blame for his exit. Despite announcing in March 2023 "with great sadness" his retirement citing his body not being able to perform, Jilly O'Donnell alleges that it was his drinking and notorious infidelity that led to his shock announcement before the Rugby World Cup.
Jilly recounted: "Stuart called me during a riding weekend in Hawick. He had fallen off his horse and was drinking but he was in good spirits. I was in the gym and kept getting all these calls.
"In one call he said things were bad. He told me, 'Something was really bad has happened. I just need some time.' He never went back to training. He later made it out that he left because he hated it. It was not a planned leave, he didn't leave over a sudden injury."
"He'd been on a bender, he kept saying people were spreading rumours. They let him save face and say he left because his body couldn't take it."
A Scottish Rugby spokesperson said: "Stuart Hogg informed us he was retiring with immediate effect in 2023, citing the toll rugby had taken on his body."
In April, the once-celebrated former captain shared that he has been in rehab after being deeply impacted by online abuse and his personal troubles becoming public, reports the Daily Record.
Taking to social media, he shared a poignant message: "Personal, private issues being played out in the public eye and online abuse are things that have impacted me significantly. I've not been able to deal with it. Online abuse is not okay."
Jilly alleges that when Hogg addressed rehab publicly, he offered no apologies, instead focussing on portraying himself as a victim: "When he made a public statement about rehab, there was not one word of apology. It was all about him, it was about him being the victim."
She claimed he had an "obsession" with negative social media commentary, "He would spend hours scrolling through social media to read the negative comments about his appearance. Even after a great game, he would still only concentrate on the bad stuff. I'd say, why do you care what Maureen from Manchester thinks of your hair?'"
Jilly says she was unware Hogg was still will his wife, Gillian, while she was in a relationship with him. Hogg recently pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse charge against his estranged wife, sending her hundreds of unwanted messages and monitoring her movements.
