Stuart Hogg’s estranged wife has said “it’s time to start my next chapter” after the former Scottish rugby captain admitted abusing her.
Gillian Hogg thanked supporters in a Facebook post after her husband, 32, pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse over five years between 2019 and 2024 on Monday.
Mrs Hogg said she had been “completely overwhelmed” and the “abundance of support and love has swamped me in the most positive way”.
Selkirk Sheriff Court heard Hogg, who made 100 appearances for his country, berated his wife for “not being fun” after going on drinking binges with his colleagues.
Mrs Hogg was said to have suffered a panic attack after he sent “in excess of 200 text messages in a few hours despite having been asked to leave her alone”.
Prosecutor Drew Long said the couple argued about where they would live and Mrs Hogg was “scared” of her husband when he became angry and would “wish it was morning so he would sober up”.
The court also heard Hogg, who now plays for French club Montpellier, used an app to track his wife and “questioned her whereabouts” while she was dropping the children off.
Read more from Sky News:
Candyman star dies
Police use hologram to help ‘find killer’
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Hogg and his wife have four children together and are in the process of getting a divorce.
Mrs Hogg said she had thought “long and hard” about posting on Facebook, adding: “But there’s nothing more important that needs to come from this than a thank you.
“Thank you to every single person who has reached out to me in ways of love, kindness and support – who have text, messaged, called, visited, sent flowers.
“Who have gave me a hi, a smile, a hug or even just a look to show they care.
“My friends and family have picked me up and carried me through this all and I’ll be grateful forever for them all.
“I have been completely overwhelmed this week especially. The abundance of support and love has swamped me in the most positive way. Thank you.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Hogg, who made his Scotland debut in 2012 and unexpectedly announced his immediate retirement from international rugby in July last year, is due to be sentenced next month.
His lawyer Angela Gray KC told the court the incidents in isolation “would have been unlikely to reach the threshold required for a prosecution in the criminal courts” but that he accepted they had “fallen short of what is expected of a husband”.
