Jonathan Rhys Meyers praises wife Mara Lane for her support after alcohol-fuelled plane drama

Jonathan Rhys Meyers has praised his wife after their ‘verbal dispute’ on a recent flight, after he recently suffered an alcohol relapse.

The 40-year-old actor was detained at Los Angeles’ LAX airport when his plane touched down on the runway earlier this month following an on-board fight with his spouse Mara Lane after which he admitted ‘drink doesn’t agree with me’.

When asked if Mara helps him with his struggles, Jonathan told PeopleNOW: ‘Oh, my wife is a superior woman. She’s incredible. Yeah, incredible. I couldn’t be luckier.’

Family: Jonathan Rhys Meyers has praised his wife after their ‘verbal dispute’ on a recent flight, after he recently suffered an alcohol relapse

Jonathan, who has 18-month-old son Wolf with Mara – battled alcoholism and admitted that he sometimes makes ‘stupid mistakes’, including ordering a drink on the plane. He said: ‘Most of the time I handle it pretty well…

‘But, every so often you make a stupid mistake. But living life in the public eye is very different. I’ve been an actor for 25 years and the whole world has changed enormously since I’ve started becoming an actor. It’s very difficult to be left alone.’

Speaking previously he admitted he was at fault for breaking his sobriety and ordering a drink following a series of ‘frustrating’ events.

He said: ‘My wife and I had been traveling since 3 o’clock in the morning from Peru back to LA. And they gave away our tickets — it was just a problem with the airline. We had our baby, who was teething at the time, and it was all kind of frustrating.

Stepping out: The 40-year-old actor was detained at Los Angeles' LAX airport when his plane touched down on the runway earlier this month following an on-board fight with his spouse Mara Lane after which he admitted 'drink doesn't agree with me'

Stepping out: The 40-year-old actor was detained at Los Angeles’ LAX airport when his plane touched down on the runway earlier this month following an on-board fight with his spouse Mara Lane after which he admitted ‘drink doesn’t agree with me’

‘So we eventually got on the flight and my wife went to sleep and I very stupidly decided to order a drink. When my wife found that I’d ordered a drink, she got very, very angry with me because I shouldn’t drink. It doesn’t suit me and I had been sober for a long time.

‘And so I felt that mistake and I got upset and I took out an e-cigarette. And the airline staff told me that I wasn’t allowed to smoke an e-cigarette so I put it away. 

‘Then I spoke to the Los Angeles police once we got there, who were incredibly kind. Incredibly understanding.’

Jonathan – who is trying to quit smoking so he doesn’t set a bad example to his son – insisted he has ‘learned [his] lesson’ from the incident and is now sober again.

Looking good: After an unfortunate start to the month, the Irish actor cut a casually cool figure in a pale brown suit which he teamed with a simple white tee

Looking good: After an unfortunate start to the month, the Irish actor cut a casually cool figure in a pale brown suit which he teamed with a simple white tee

Happy: Jonathan looked to be in good spirits as he stepped out for the event in the stylish suit

Happy: Jonathan looked to be in good spirits as he stepped out for the event in the stylish suit

Happy: Jonathan looked to be in good spirits as he stepped out for the event in the stylish suit

He said: ‘I learned my lesson. As soon as I got off the airplane I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately.’

Mara previously insisted the incident was ‘out of character’ for her husband and she revealed he had been trying to combat his ‘anger issues’. 

He has admitted that alcohol ‘doesn’t suit him’ after his shocking drunken and violent outburst on a flight earlier this month.

On Thursday, Jonathan appeared to be putting the tough times behind him, as he was seen at the Build Series in New York.

Stylish: The Bend It Like Beckham star casually propped a pair of black rimmed spectacles on the top of his simple white top

Stylish: The Bend It Like Beckham star casually propped a pair of black rimmed spectacles on the top of his simple white top

After an unfortunate start to the month, the Irish actor, 40, cut a casually cool figure in a pale brown suit which he teamed with a simple white tee. 

Jonathan looked to be in good spirits as he stepped out for the event in the stylish suit. The Bend It Like Beckham star casually propped a pair of black rimmed spectacles on the top of his simple white top. 

While he sported a shaved do on his sides, the rest of his locks were styled with gel.  His sighting comes after a candid interview with Larry King Now, in which he admitted that drinking doesn’t ‘suit’ him.

Mane attraction: While he sported a shaved do on his sides, the rest of his locks were styled with gel

Mane attraction: While he sported a shaved do on his sides, the rest of his locks were styled with gel

Fashionable: The star toted his belongings in a chic leather bag 

Fashionable: The star toted his belongings in a chic leather bag 

He spoke following the incident, which led to him being detained at LAX when his plane touched down on the runway. 

The Velvet Goldmine actor admitted he was ‘upset’ by his actions but had apologised to all involved in the incident and thanked police for being ‘incredibly kind and understanding’.

He continued: ‘And so I felt that mistake and I got upset and I took out an e-cigarette. And the staff told me that I wasn’t allowed to smoke an e-cigarette so I put it away. 

Walking the walk: He matched his bag to his lace-up shoes 

Walking the walk: He matched his bag to his lace-up shoes 

Remorse: His sighting comes after a candid interview with Larry King Now, in which he admitted that drinking doesn't 'suit' him after an incident when he was detained at LAX

Remorse: His sighting comes after a candid interview with Larry King Now, in which he admitted that drinking doesn’t ‘suit’ him after an incident when he was detained at LAX

‘Then I spoke to the Los Angeles police once we got there, who were incredibly kind. Incredibly understanding. I apologised for my behaviour, and that’s the entire story.’

Jonathan has ‘learned [his] lesson’ from the incident and is now sober again.

He added: ‘It is a good opportunity to apologise to anybody who was offended that that incident happened, but I learned my lesson. As soon as I got off the airplane I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately.’

Mara previously insisted the incident was ‘out of character’ for her husband and she revealed he had been trying to combat his ‘anger issues’.

Detained: The actor was detained by police at LAX on Sunday after allegedly getting into a drunken fight with his wife and trying to smoke his e-cigarette on the flight from Miami

Detained: The actor was detained by police at LAX on Sunday after allegedly getting into a drunken fight with his wife and trying to smoke his e-cigarette on the flight from Miami

She wrote on Instagram: ‘[Eight] months of sobriety and an unfortunate day of airline travel. We were in South America specifically working holistically through anger issues that result in these kinds of episodes.

‘When in it… he is not in a frame of mind where he can really even comprehend the repercussions and necessary response to his own actions.

‘J IS extremely sorry for any inconveniences caused to anyone traveling yesterday. There was no argument, just me asking him to not use his e cig per stewardess’ request to me and him not being himself, speaking very very unkindly.

‘It was out of his character. It was unbeknownst to me anything that happened on flight, as I was with my son with a privacy wall up.

‘We are home safe and he is feeling deeply sorry for any remote disrespect afforded to me, attendants, onlookers or officers. Thank you for your compassion on this ongoing battle with addiction we are in.’ [sic] 

Police: At least five police cars showed up at the plane. According to one passenger, Rhys Meyers was being difficult even before he got on the flight in Miami

Police: At least five police cars showed up at the plane. According to one passenger, Rhys Meyers was being difficult even before he got on the flight in Miami

Fellow first class passengers said Jonathan had been drinking and screamed ‘f**k you, I’m going to divorce you’ at his wife Mara after she asked him to stop smoking his e-cigarette on the plane.

He was detained on the tarmac when the American Airlines flight landed and was pictured speaking with a number of officers.  

A fellow passenger, who was sitting in first class behind the actor, told The Sun Online that Jonathan was behaving ‘erratically’ and had been intimidating other passengers.

He had been ordering ‘drink after drink’ and went to the toilet more than a dozen times – and refused to stop smoking his e-cigarette. The passenger added that Meyers was so inebriated that he didn’t notice his jeans had fallen down to his knees at one point. 

Eventually, flight attendants asked his wife, who had separated herself from her husband by putting a privacy screen up, to intervene.

Unfortunate: His wife took to Instagram to say the mid-flight incident was 'unfortunate' given he had just been receiving help for anger issues that 'result in these kinds of episodes'

Unfortunate: His wife took to Instagram to say the mid-flight incident was ‘unfortunate’ given he had just been receiving help for anger issues that ‘result in these kinds of episodes’

‘They told her that if he didn’t stop using the e-cigarette we’d have to land the plane early and get him off so she tried to tell him that,’ the passenger said.

‘That’s when he really lost it, he was yelling at her ‘f**k you, shut the f**k up, I’m divorcing you when I get back, you’re annoying leave me the f*** alone.’

‘Then he was ranting and screaming: ‘Who says I’m using e-cigarettes? Who? Who? Show me who said it.’ 

According to another passenger, the actor was being difficult even before he  got on the flight in Miami.

‘Before we boarded in Miami, as the wheelchair and other people who need assistance were boarding first, he pushed to the front with his wife and child shouting about having a first class ticket and that he should be boarding first,’ the passenger told DailyMail.com.

Star: He has starred in a number of high-productions, including acclaimed series The Tudors

Star: He has starred in a number of high-productions, including acclaimed series The Tudors

‘When I was getting off I saw the cars and Jonathan Rhys Meyers surrounded by cops. On the way off the plane a crew member in pilot’s uniform said that if he had known about his behaviour in Miami he wouldn’t have let him board. 

‘The pilot told me he was going to try and get him banned from America.’

Police said he was ‘admonished’ for his behaviour and then released without charge.  The couple, who have been together since 2013, revealed in September last year that they had suffered a miscarriage with their second child.

They revealed the heartbreaking news on social media, saying their baby, Willow, has been laid to rest under a tree at their home. Elsewhere on Thursday, Jonathan claimed he doesn’t like to spend too much money on clothes during his televised appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan!

He explained: ‘Yeah, I don’t like to spend too much money on suits and clothes because I have a 19-month-old boy Wolf and that’s where all the money goes. I just buy my suits off the rack.’

Helping hand: Mara has faithfully stood by the actor throughout his highly publicised troubled

Helping hand: Mara has faithfully stood by the actor throughout his highly publicised troubled

Jonathan also touched on his latest film Damascus Cover where he slips into the role of a spy who is on an undercover mission in Syria.  

He elaborated: ‘It dives into the reality of the costs of the job that has consequences for everybody all over the world.’ In a lengthy Instagram post at the time, Mara said her husband had taken the news particularly hard.

‘Depression is a real concern from past abuse as well as alcoholism which he was born with. He has been able to turn any ugliness and hurt in his life into art and is the strongest person I know. I do not know anyone who has been through what he has been through and reached his level of successes,’ Mara said of the actor. 

Jonathan has suffered a long-term battle with alcoholism and has been in and out of rehab over the years. He checked into a Malibu facility in 2005 and 2007 before returning for a third time in 2009.  

He publicly apologised to his fans in 2015 for a ‘minor relapse’ after pictures surfaced of him on a street drinking straight from a bottle of vodka.

Sober: The actor has insisted that he's now sober after getting his most recent wake-up call (pictured in 2014)

Sober: The actor has insisted that he’s now sober after getting his most recent wake-up call (pictured in 2014)



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk