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Joe Marler is adamant he has moved on from his "toxic" past in rugby as he made it to the final of Celebrity Traitors. The ex-England star was one of three Faithfuls who appeared on Thursday night's episode, but he was cut before the last moments, where Traitor Alan Carr was crowned the winner of the show. Marler has been a popular addition to the BBC programme, and his "wonderful" nature allowed him to make it all the way to the end. Plenty of fans praised the ex-rugby player's character on social media, as one X user wrote: "Alan Carr may be the star, but I'm so glad Celebrity Traitors has allowed Joe Marler to show the nation what a wonderful man he is. He deserves every benefit being on this show will bring him." However, by his own admission, Marler hasn't always been the approachable person he appeared on the show. In a recent appearance on Jamie Laing's podcast, Great Company, Marler opened up about his past self when asked if he was a bit of a bully. The ex-Harlequins star said: "Oh yeah, definitely. In that environment, it's almost encouraged. You have to be that alpha; it's the toxic masculinity often described as poisonous. I could either use my powers for good or evil, and more often than not, I'd lean to the evil side. "I look back at that and go, f***, the amount of people I've made uncomfortable – I don't want to do that now, I don't want to be like that now." There were numerous incidents during Marler's rugby career, where he would end up suspended for various verbal insults towards opposition players. The former prop's biggest suspension came in 2020 when he was handed a 10-week punishment for grabbing the genitals of Welsh rugby star Alun Wyn Jones. Afterwards, Marler admitted that what he did was wrong during the Six Nations clash, adding that he has tried to make amends for other problems he caused. He said: "I've apologised to them. Whether it's been well received or not, the damage was already done with a lot of team-mates like that. That's sort of why I retired. I'd spent the last two years of my career at Harlequins. A lot of my group had sort of retired and moved on, and I'd always been close to them. "I hadn't really made any effort at making new friends or engaging with the younger teammates. I was an outsider through my own fault. I'd been horrible to a number of the team-mates, so they weren't going to make an effort, and it was like, 'F***, I need to get out of here.' "It's not fair on me and my body and all that lot from that point of view, as well as my family, to flog a dead horse, but it's also not the best thing for the group. It's their group, it's their club, and I'm sort of this bad smell in the corner that at any moment could just say something. Even the coaches were like, 'F****** hell.'" Marler retired from rugby in 2024 after a 15-year career in the sport, winning a silver and a bronze medal with England at two Rugby World Cups. The 35-year-old also won three Six Nations championships and two Premiership titles with the Harlequins.
