LONDON - Fans will be relieved after Jonathan Rhys Meyers was pictured on Instagram on Tuesday looking fine.
The photo of the Irish actor with his fiancee Mara Lane appeared on her Instagram page after he was pictured earlier this month looking bedraggled and carrying what looked like an open bottle of alcohol.
He stopped to take a shot of the spirit he had poured into the bottle cap, spilling some down his top, according to the Daily Mail.
The picture was a far cry from his usual dashing image and it sparked concerns that the The Tudors star, who has battled alcohol dependency for years, had fallen off the wagon.
But on Tuesday, he issued a public apology and admitted to a "blip in my recovery".
When he was pictured on May 15 on the London street, his film Damascus Cover was playing at the Cannes Film Festival and he took also pains to explain his absence from the premiere.
In a statement on Tuesday on Lane's Instagram account, he said: "Mara and I are thankful for your support and kindness during this time. I apologise for having a minor relapse and hope that people don't think too badly of me.
"I stopped drinking immediately and it is no reflection on Damascus Cover as I was not meant to attend Cannes this year and I apologise to fans and colleagues.
"I am on the mend and thank well wishers and sorry for my dishevelled appearance as I was on my way home from a friends and had not changed.
"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."
The statement was accompanied by a picture of Lane, an American actress and producer.
Hours later, he appeared in a photo with Lane on her Instagram page.
He looked his former cleaned-up self and the caption read: "Wishing you a lovely day and rest of week. With Love, J&M."
Rhys Meyers, 37, has been in rehab many times for drug and alcohol problems.
In 2011, he was rushed to hospital following a reported relapse from heavy drinking.
According to Deadline Hollywood, he plays an undercover agent sent to Syria in 1989 to smuggle a chemical weapons scientist and his family out of Damascus in Damascus Cover, set in Morocco.
