Joe Westerman's heartbroken wife has revealed she failed to get to their children quick enough before they had been sent the shameful clip of their father carrying out a sex act on another woman in an alleyway.
The two-cap England star, 33, has been fined by his club Castleford after the video was leaked on social media at the weekend. He will not feature in their Super League season opener against his former club Hull FC on Sunday.
Wife Lauren, who shares three children with the ex-Warrington and Wakefield star, has spoken of her and her family's ordeal, pledging not to forgive her husband or take him back.
"My next thought was for my 14-year-old daughter and whether I could get to her before she saw it," she explained to The Sun. “But it was too late. She kept being added to these Snapchat groups from school and being sent the video.
“She left the groups but kept being added to more and it was sent to her again and again and again. Our nine-year-old was also sent a screenshot of the video in messages.
“That’s their dad and I feel so sorry for them that they’ve had to see something like that. Truth is, he only told me because it was on social media. But I’m glad it was found because the thought of kissing him after that just makes me feel sick."
Lauren took to Twitter on Sunday to make it clear that she was not the woman in the video that was sweeping the social media site.
She wrote: “Can I make this VERY clear that this is NOT me!!!!!! And we have three children, one of whom is almost 15, and she doesn’t need to see things like this all over social media!”
Through his club Castleford, Westerman apologised for the video and admitted he had problems with alcohol.
He said in a statement: "Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly apologise to my family and friends for my actions. I'd also like to apologise to the supporters, sponsors, staff, and directors of Castleford Tigers as well as my teammates.
"I’d like to extend this apology to the game of rugby league, and I have realised that I need to work on my decision-making around alcohol."
