Michael Douglas admits to romance with co-star that he kept secret for 40 years
Michael Douglas has revealed that the famously electric chemistry he shared with one specific co-star wasn't just for the cameras.
In fact, in his bombshell new memoir, One Helluva Ride, the Hollywood veteran confirmed they were actually romantically involved while filming one of the biggest 80s blockbusters.
Now, if you're wondering how Douglas managed to squeeze in a passionate love affair, having been married to Catherine Zeta-Jones for more than two decades, worry not.
This particular love story happened long before their relationship began.
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In his book, 82-year-old Douglas looked back on his career in the spotlight, as well as the relationships he enjoyed - both publicly and privately - and some of the stories that have followed him throughout his life.
One of those stories concerns the 1984 adventure comedy Romancing the Stone, which saw Douglas play charming adventurer Jack Colton alongside a rising star playing novelist Joan Wilder.
The pair had undeniable chemistry on screen - so much so that fans have spent decades wondering whether there was something more going on behind the scenes.
And though Douglas and his co-star always insisted there wasn't, he has since confirmed the rumours were true.
So, who was the mystery woman? Kathleen Turner, of course.
According to an excerpt from Douglas' memoir published by PEOPLE, the pair 'fell hard for each other' while filming the movie in Mexico.
Douglas says he was immediately attracted to Turner when they first met to discuss her taking the role.
"Kathleen was smart, funny, and sexy with a deep, sultry voice that became her signature," he penned. "I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other."
At the time, he was separated from his then-wife Diandra Douglas, although they remained married and shared their young son, Cameron.
The actor says the intense environment of filming, their growing friendship and their attraction eventually developed into a relationship.
"The chemistry I had with Kathleen Turner was so strong, audiences have been certain for years that we were in a relationship together while making the film," Douglas continued. "We both denied it through Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, War of the Roses, and even while doing press a few years ago for The Kominsky Method."
Even director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Danny DeVito, Douglas says, had no idea.
He went on: "The official story went as follows: Yes, we confessed, we had amazing chemistry. Yes, we were both, as Kathleen said, 'terrible flirts', and yes, we were both tempted, but nothing ever happened between us. That was a lie."
He recalled that after long days filming in the jungle, they would eat together before he would secretly go to Turner's hotel room once everyone else had gone to bed.
"It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years. In fact, during a People magazine interview only a few years ago, Kathleen held to it, saying, 'Oh I was yearning, babe, but he was still married... It was that wonderful sexual tension, you know? When you really, really know you want somebody — and I’m saying it went both ways — and you can’t have them'," Douglas added.
He then revealed: "The truth is that during the production of Romancing the Stone, Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship.
"It wasn’t a fly-by-night affair; it grew naturally from how closely we were working together, how much pressure we were under, how much we respected and cared for one another, and how attracted we were to each other.
"Like every other guy in the world at the time, I was knocked sideways by Kathleen...."
Things eventually changed when Diandra travelled to Mexico with Cameron and became suspicious. Douglas says she later spoke privately with Turner and made clear that she still considered herself married to Douglas.
"A woman’s intuition, I suppose," he wrote. "At some point, she was alone with Kathleen and made it clear to her that we were still married. Her view of the terms of our separation was different from mine. This gave Kathleen pause."
Turner, he writes, 'didn’t want to interfere', and the relationship ended.
Douglas subsequently returned to Diandra for the sake of their son, although he says in the memoir that they should not have reconciled.
Despite everything, Douglas and Turner eventually repaired their friendship.
They even remained close enough for Douglas to ask Turner permission before including their long-hidden romance in his memoir.
As we say, the pair's secret relationship with Turner is, of course, firmly in the past.
Douglas has been married to Zeta-Jones, 57, since 2000, after the pair first met in 1998. They share two children, Dylan and Carys.
The Basic Instinct actor's first marriage to Diandra eventually ended in divorce in 1995.
Topics: Celebrity, US News, TV And Film, Entertainment
Rhianna Benson