Jonathan Rhys Meyers has issued an apology on Instagram, after a British newspaper published worrying pictures of him seemingly intoxicated while walking down a London street. The Irish actor, who has battled an addiction to alcohol, sparked concerns with his behavior and his disheveled appearance in the images, and has now spoken about the incident for the first time.

Jonathan, 37, reached out to his fans by posting a message on the Instagram page of his American fiancée Mara Lane, assuring them he was "on the mend" and that it was just a "blip" in his recovery.



"Mara and I are thankful for your support and kindness during this time. I apologize for having a minor relapse and hope that people don’t think too badly of me. I stopped drinking immediately," he captioned a picture of Mara.

The star also said that his "relapse" was not the reason for his absence at the unveilling of his new film Damascus Cover at the Cannes Film Festival. "I was not meant to attend Cannes this year, and I apologize to fans and colleagues," he added.

After saying he was sorry about his "disheveled appearance" in the published photographs, he added, "I feel I made a mistake and feel quite embarrassed but this was just a blip in my recovery otherwise I'm living a healthy life. Love and blessings."

Hours after posting the statement, he and Mara cuddled up for a sweet photograph together which they posted on her Instagram page. The image, which shows the Tudors actor dressed in a leather jacket next to Mara, was simply captioned: "Wishing you a lovely day and rest of week. With Love, J&M."

Wishing you a lovely day and rest of week. With Love, J&M

A photo posted by Mara Lane (@thelionandthelambchop) on


Jonathan's struggle with addiction has been well documented. He has been arrested on a number of occasions over the last decade, and has previously sought help for alcohol abuse, most recently checking into rehab in 2011.

I love you Sweetheart. x

A photo posted by Mara Lane (@thelionandthelambchop) on




In November 2013, he opened up about his demons. "I was wild, I was as wild as you can get," he told British newspaper the Mirror. "When you are on the front of newspapers for stupidity, getting drunk at airports, fighting with cops and stuff like that, you wake up the next day and you can hardly… remember it. Responsibility gets diminished."

He added, "As you get older, you see the stupid things you have done. It is not the consequences for yourself, but your family get hurt, your friends get hurt."

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