Oct 12th, 2018

Oct 12th, 2018

Former AFL superstar Brian Lake has revealed how family heartbreak led him on a severe downward spiral culminating in his arrest in Japan last July.

The three-time premiership winner admitted that he hit "rock bottom" after returning home from his appearance on Australian Survivor to be told by his wife that she needed a "break".

"You probably should deal with your issues but, I decided, to an extent, to run away from them," Lake told the Herald Sun.

"I couldn’t handle it.

Lake was arrested and placed in solitary confinement in a police cell for six days (Getty)

"If you’re not in the right headspace when you’re drinking then it’s amazing when you have a few, that bad things can happen."

Lake embarked on trip to Bali followed by Japan and it was there where the 2013 Norm Smith Medallist was involved in a late-night brawl following an argument with his wife over the phone. Lake was arrested and placed in solitary confinement in a police cell for six days.

However, when he returned home expecting the worst to have passed, he was dealt another body blow with his mother passing away after a long battle with cancer.

"You look at life and you think, s--t, it’s not panning out the way that you expected," Lake said.

Lake celebrates with his two children after winning his second premiership in 2014 (AAP)

"But you’ve got kids and no matter how bad life gets, you’ve got other people around you."

Many professional athletes in codes all over the world struggle to cope with life after retirement, and Lake admitted that he was one of them.

"Some people might find it easy, but me being independent when I was younger, it’s always been about myself," he told the Herald Sun.

"Then all of a sudden, footy’s finished, there’s no reason for you to be selfish any more, but it’s not easy."

The 2013 Norm Smith Medallist admitted that he has struggled with life after football (Getty)

However, despite his struggles in terms of coping with life after football, the 254-game legend said he was determined to make a change.

He is hell-bent on rebuilding his marriage, and is working to spend more time on his business and away from the headlines.

"There’s a reason why you get married," Lake said.

"You want to work on it. You’ve just gotta get yourself right.

"I’m not a person just to give up."