Over the years, the former Harlequins star has spoken openly about his mental health and has encouraged people to talk to someone if they are having their own struggles.
After calling time on his playing career in November 2024, Marler opened up about the severe depression he suffered in 2018.
Beautiful bromance forming between Joe’s Marler and Wilkinson btw #traitors #CelebrityTraitors pic.twitter.com/U1ER1GsEJS
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Speaking to The iPaper , Marler said his depression led to struggles getting out of bed each day. “Me constantly crying on the way to work, stuff like that,” he explained.
He admitted he would direct his emotions, which manifested into “rage and anger” out on Daisy, his wife of eight years, with whom he shares four children: Pixie, Maggie, Felix, and Jasper.
After going to therapy and taking antidepressants, Marler is now looking after his mental health and has developed techniques to recognise triggers and control his anger.
Using his experiences and platform, he has worked tirelessly to break down the stigma around mental health in sport.
Speaking to Men’s Health about how he looks after his mental health now, the 35-year-old said: “There are techniques I use when I feel my red mist; sometimes they work, and other times they don’t.
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“The biggest thing was learning to recognise when I was going to start feeling that way: knowing what triggers it and finding ways to deal with it early.
“And to know that there’ll always be these moments.
“My mental health is the same as my physical health. In both, you can put on weight or lose weight; you can put on muscle the same way as you can control how you want to attack the day.
“You can’t control what might be thrown at you. But you can control how you react to it.”
