Catherine Zeta-Jones’ ultimatum to Michael Douglas over their romance revealed
Catherine Zeta-Jones gave her now-husband, Michael Douglas, a stern ultimatum at the start of their relationship: stop dating other women.
“When I courted Catherine, she told me, ‘If we are doing this, you need to clean your act up,’” Douglas recalled on Friday’s episode of “The Graham Norton Show,” according to Hello! magazine.
Douglas, 82, noted that he was recently divorced from his first wife, Diandra Luker, and “seeing some other people at the time” that he met Zeta-Jones, 57, in 1998.
But following the “Wednesday” star’s demand, Douglas said he “had to call five women to break things off.”
Douglas also admitted on the British talk show that he “was a little surprised” by how many romantic partners he had before pursuing Zeta-Jones.
“It was very easy to get comfortable with co-stars and sometimes that got carried away,” he shared.
In his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” Douglas explained that after separating from Luker in 1995 after 23 years of marriage, he began non-monogamous relationships with five women who all lived in different cities.
But after meeting Zeta-Jones at the Deauville American Film Festival in France, Douglas recalled that the “Chicago” actress refused to date him if they weren’t monogamous.
“That day, I called each one to say I’d met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them,” he wrote in his book. “They all took it well.”
Two years after meeting, Douglas and Zeta-Jones tied the knot at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
The couple welcomed two children, son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23, who are both actors. Douglas also has son Cameron, 47, from his first marriage.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones briefly separated in 2013 after his tongue cancer battle and her bipolar disorder treatment, but as he noted in his book, the “Fatal Attraction” star “never gave up hope” that they’d reconcile.
“I love Catherine in a way that I have never loved any other woman,” he wrote. “She’s my wife, my best friend, and my life partner. I could never lose her.”
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