He went through a period when he was constantly uploading miserable posts to Instagram, in the wake of his estranged wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead leaving him for Ewan McGregor.
But writer/director Riley Stearns seems to have turned a corner after vowing that 2018 would be more positive for him.
And as February arrives, it seems the 31-year-old has not just taken on a positive outlook but is feeling ready to get back on the dating horse.
Riley uploaded an Instagram Story of him listening to notoriously raunchy track Pony, by Ginuwine, which features the lyrics ‘I’m just a bachelor/I’m looking for a partner’ and ‘If you’re horny, let’s do it/Ride it, my pony/My saddle’s waiting/Come and jump on it’.
He followed this up with a black screen emblazoned with the words ‘Life is feeling pretty great rn [right now] tbh [to be honest]’ which suggests things in his personal life are on the up.
He also captioned the Pony post ‘Feeling this 1996 playlist I found last night’, whilst smouldering into the camera.
By contrast, his previous Insta Stories seemed a lot more maudlin, as he listened to sombre music, suggesting he was missing his ex.
He also posted an image of him sat on his bed, captioning it ‘Sitting up in my room which is still a huge f**king work in progress’.
Riley seemed in a pensive mood as he reflected on the breakdown of his 15-year marriage in January. He wrote ‘Remember when I used to post sad stuff ALL THE TIME?? Yeah, sorry about that. I’m all about not taking myself too serious in 2k18’ on Instagram.
Over the past few months, the television writer has shared a number of downcast Instagram snaps as he struggles to move on from the 33-year-old Final Destination actress.
In December, Riley admitted he was still getting used to being called a divorcé – despite still being married to his estranged wife of 15-years.
Sharing on Instagram stories, he wrote: ‘Just remembered I got called a divorcé for the first time yesterday. Still not as bad as the word fiancé tho.’
Riley’s posts follow love rival Ewan’s recent Golden Globes acceptance speech which raised eyebrows when he thanked both his wife Eve Mavrakis and his new love Mary.
After being awarded the best performance by an actor in a limited series gong for his role as twins Emmitt and Ray Stussy in Fargo the actor – who, at 46, is 15 years older than Riley – thanked his estranged wife of 22 years Eve, from whom he separated in mid-2017.
He said: ‘I want to take a moment to just say thank you to Eve, who always stood by me for 22 years,’ he said, ‘and our four children Clara, Esther, Jamyan and Anouk.’
Ewan then went on to mention his Fargo costar Mary Elizabeth who plays his character Ray’s girlfriend Nikki Swango and who is now his real life girlfriend.
He continued: ‘I’ve always loved being an actor and I got amazing actors to hang out with, and there wouldn’t have been any Emmett without David Thewlis and Michael Stuhlbard and Carrie Coon.
