'I would be known as somebody who relapses with problem drinking, not alcoholism,' the actor, has spent most of his adult life in and out of rehab, insists.

• Jul 30, 2018

AceShowbiz - Embattled actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers doesn't consider himself to struggle with alcoholism, because he never craves the taste of booze.

Mission: Impossible 3 star has spent most of his adult life in and out of rehab for his drinking demons, and most recently hit headlines in early July, when he and his wife, Mara Lane, became involved in a domestic dispute over his decision to order a drink onboard a flight from Miami, Florida to Los Angeles.

The Irishman has since apologised for his actions and regained his sobriety, and admits he deeply regrets the incident.

"I've let myself down by relapsing, and it's my responsibility," he told the Mail on Sunday's Event magazine. "Nobody else is to blame".

However, Jonathan insists he isn't an alcoholic - he just has a behavioral issue once he starts to drink.

"I would be known as somebody who relapses with problem drinking, not alcoholism," he explained. "I don't suffer from alcoholism - I suffer from an allergy to alcohol every time I drink it.

"But once I stop, I never think about it again," the 41-year-old continued. "That doesn't mean that the problem is any less, it just means I have a different version of it.

"But when I drink, the consequences are so devastating that it is a problem. But I never need a drink. It's not something that I crave".

Jonathan has made repeated efforts to conquer his boozing with the help of medical professionals, but it's when he's travelling that the actor, who was previously arrested for drunken behaviour at airports in Dublin, Ireland in 2007 and in Paris, France in 2011, finds himself most vulnerable.

"People who go through this look for things in their life that trigger them. And airports are a trigger for me, because they make you sit there for three hours, you can't smoke and you're surrounded by alcohol," he shared, before acknowledging, "That is not an excuse, there's never an excuse for me to drink".

The troubled star is now determined to stay sober for the sake of the couple's young son, Wolf, and he recently heaped praise on his wife of two years for continuing to support him as he works to overcome his substance abuse issues once ad for all.

"My wife is a superior woman. She's incredible...," he told People.com. "I couldn't be luckier".