Why Lauren Conrad’s Ex-Boyfriend Is Apologizing For This Instagram Post

Former The Hills and Laguna Beach star Jason Wahler took to Instagram to clarify a potentially confusing post involving his ex-girlfriend Lauren Conrad.

The post in question was a photo collage shared by the Sober Movement celebrating Wahler's seven years of sobriety after struggling with alcohol and substance abuse. The first of the four photos show the pair together. Rather than leave it up for interpretation, Wahler reposted the collage on his Instagram writing, "I can now see how some of you are viewing this photo.... I apologize if I offended anyone one. Lauren, [sic] had nothing to do with my alcoholism or addiction !! However my addiction became very public during my time on The Hills, hence the reason for the photo in the top left."

Wahler and Conrad dated while on both The Hills and Laguna Beach. In an Entertainment Tonight interview last year, the reality star shared some of his experience with addiction and recovery. He admitted that the sudden success of The Hills contributed to his struggle. "...there was a lot of things that came overnight that were very, very glamorous, I guess you can call it -- and that's when that downward spiral happened for me. It ignited my addiction and things started to domino effect right before our own eyes, and before you knew it, it got out of control and I couldn't handle it," he told ET. He shared that his addiction had a negative effect on his relationship with Lauren Conrad, explaining that he became a "totally different person."

While the pressure of the show exasperated his problem, he doesn't believe it caused it. "That was going to happen regardless. Addiction is genetic," he explained to ET. "There's forms of it. It was going to happen no matter what. ... The TV show might have ignited it, or added fuel to the fire, but it didn't cause it." After seeking help, Wahler became sober in 2010.

Now, seven years later, Wahler runs a sober-living facility called Widespread Recovery in Orange County, CA. Regardless of the confusion the post may have caused, he wanted to share the message that "recovery is possible."