Jana Hocking, a Sydney-based sex columnist, has publicly confirmed a brief sexual encounter with former NRL player and coach Sam Burgess, saying the liaison began after an argument in a King's Cross bar in 2021.
Hocking detailed the episode on her KIIS FM radio show Saucy Secrets, saying she and friends were approached by Burgess — who she said had just been in court over his divorce — and that a confrontation about a previous column turned into an apology of shots and "special cuddles." She said the pair left the venue together and were photographed, with images later published by the Sunday Telegraph.
Hocking said the interaction followed the publication of an article she had written titled "Why I'll never date football players again," which referenced a previous relationship with rugby league player Todd Carney. According to Hocking, Burgess accused her of writing a story about him during their exchange. She said friends intervened on her behalf, Burgess then bought a tray of shots as an apparent apology, and events progressed from there.
The columnist, who earlier denied the tryst when photos first appeared, said the images published in 2021 did not show the most intimate moments because the pair had been mingling in the bar and she was wearing joggers. Hocking said the next morning she received a call from a journalist who had seen the photos.
Burgess, who played for South Sydney and later moved into coaching, was in a high-profile divorce at the time, Hocking said. The former rugby league player was previously married to Phoebe Hooke; the couple share two children. Burgess is now married to Lucy Burgess; the pair have a son and are expecting a second child after an October 2024 wedding in Italy.
Hocking made the disclosure during a segment of Saucy Secrets that focused on past relationships and the complications that arise when public figures are involved. She described the meeting as having "come about in the craziest way" and characterised the on-site reaction — including the purchase of shots and subsequent photos — as the turning point that led to media coverage.
The episode drew attention in 2021 when the photos were published by the Sunday Telegraph; at that time Hocking denied a tryst. Her on-air confirmation in 2025 adds detail to the previously reported encounter and reinforces how interactions between journalists, media personalities and sports figures can quickly become public.
Representatives for Burgess and Hocking did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment. Media coverage of the incident has focused on the intersection of sports fame, personal relationships and press scrutiny, and the recollection offered on live radio renews public interest in an episode that occurred amid Burgess's divorce proceedings.
Hocking is a regular contributor to Australian media who writes on sex and relationships. Burgess remains a high-profile figure in rugby league circles, and events involving his personal life have drawn ongoing coverage in Australian tabloid and mainstream outlets.