Michael Douglas revealed his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones issued him a blunt ultimatum when they first got together.
Douglas, 82, told Friday’s episode of “The Graham Norton Show” that Zeta-Jones, 57, demanded he stop seeing other women if they were going to pursue a relationship, according to Hello! Magazine. The “Fatal Attraction” star had recently divorced his first wife, Diandra Luker, and was juggling multiple romantic partners when he met the Welsh actress in 1998.
“When I courted Catherine, she told me, ‘If we are doing this, you need to clean your act up,'” Douglas recalled on the British talk show.
The “Chicago” star’s warning prompted immediate action. Douglas said he “had to call five women to break things off” that same day, a detail he also recounts in his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride.” In the book, he explained that after separating from Luker in 1995 following 23 years of marriage, he had entered into non-monogamous relationships with five women who all lived in different cities.
“That day, I called each one to say I’d met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them,” he wrote. “They all took it well.”
Douglas admitted on “Graham Norton” that he “was a little surprised” by how many women he was involved with before committing to Zeta-Jones. He added that his tendency to get close to co-stars sometimes spiraled beyond professional boundaries.
“It was very easy to get comfortable with co-stars and sometimes that got carried away,” he shared.
The couple met at the Deauville American Film Festival in France and married two years later at New York City’s Plaza Hotel. They share son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23, both of whom have pursued acting careers. Douglas also has son Cameron, 47, from his first marriage to Luker.
In “One Helluva Ride,” Douglas reflected on the couple’s 2013 separation, which came during his tongue cancer battle and her bipolar disorder treatment. He wrote that he “never gave up hope” they would 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.”
Zeta-Jones has been more reserved about diving into her husband’s tell-all. During an Oct. 8 appearance on “Today,” she confessed she had not finished the memoir despite her husband confirming to the outlet earlier this month that she was actively reading it.
“As much as I love my husband, when I’m tired at night, I have no intention of reading about him. At all,” she said.
Douglas also used his “Graham Norton” appearance to push back against long-circulating rumors about sex addiction, reportedly calling himself a “healthy product of the Sixties” rather than someone with a clinical compulsion.
The couple, who reconciled after their 2013 split, remain married after more than two decades together.