Mike Caussin is marking a major milestone.
The 33-year-old former football player took to Instagram Monday, Dec. 28 to reflect on his battle with sex addiction and celebrate his sobriety.
"As an addict I carry a lot of shame. Others who share a similar disease can relate," he wrote in a post shared to wife Jana Kramer's account. "We rarely like to speak about it let alone acknowledge it. But this Thursday I celebrate the most sober year of my entire life."
Mike acknowledged his journey hasn't been easy. "I've had my stumbles and falls over the last four years in this program but this year has finally been different," he added. "None of that has been possible without finally allowing myself to lean into others, lean into my wife and lean into God."
He also made it clear he wasn't seeking "attention, sympathy or congrats" with his post. "It's a post to express humility," Mike wrote, "and acknowledge that we don't have to go through life alone."
At the end of his message, he encouraged his followers to show each other a little more support in the new year.
"As human beings and especially as men we can learn to be vulnerable, we can allow others to help us when we need it," he concluded. "So maybe going into this new year we can all lean into each other a bit more. It's our choice whether we want to live divided or together. So given that choice why would you want to be divided? We are all different and that's what makes us the breathing miracles we are. Let's choose to embrace that in 2021."
Mike and Jana tied the knot in 2015 and welcomed their first child, 4-year-old daughter Jolie, in 2016. The couple separated later that year after news broke that Mike had cheated. He sought treatment and they eventually reconciled, renewing their wedding vows in 2017.
"If it wasn't for my daughter, I most likely would've walked away," Jana told host Justin Sylvester on Just the Sip in September. "She was 6 months at the time when I found out about everything and as a mama bear, I was like, ‘You don't get to ruin this. You don't get to ruin my family, what I worked so hard for.'"
The One Tree Hill alum and the athlete welcomed 2-year-old son Jace in 2018. Through all of their ups and downs, the two continued to share their experiences with their followers. During a 2019 episode of their podcast Whine Down With Jana Kramer, for instance, Mike spoke about his stumbles, including a relapse. Although, he clarified there was "no sex outside of the marriage" and that "there weren't any other affairs since that moment."
Earlier this year, Mike and Jana also talked about a DM she received from a stranger, who claimed "Mike cheated again." Mike denied the allegations. Jana also asked the person who made the claim for proof, but the social media user didn't reveal anything and later deleted their account.
"It crushed me," Mike said while recalling the moment Jana confronted him. "It sucks that she can't default to trusting me. It sucks that I've done what I've done in the past to create that in our relationship right now. My hope is that years down the line, if something like this happened again, she would be able to bring it to me and we can laugh about it because there's so much trust in the bank."
Ultimately, Jana stood by her husband. "It's not a bump; it's a win," the 37-year-old actress and singer said. "Thank you to whoever did that because it just showed that I can trust my husband."