In his new memoir "One Helluva Ride," Michael Douglas reveals he was dating five women simultaneously when he met Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1998. After a brief rejection from Zeta-Jones due to his non-monogamous behavior, Douglas ended relationships with all five women to pursue her exclusively. The pair eventually married at the Plaza Hotel in New York City two years later and have been together since.
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Story summary
In his new memoir "One Helluva Ride," Michael Douglas, aged 82, reveals details about his romantic life before marrying Catherine Zeta-Jones. When he started dating Zeta-Jones in late 1998 after meeting at the Deaville American Film Festival, she insisted on a monogamous relationship. Douglas admitted to having five simultaneous non-monogamous relationships with women living in different cities and had to inform each of them when he decided to commit exclusively to Zeta-Jones. The memoir also touches on his younger days in New York City, where he shared an apartment with Danny DeVito, detailing a time when both were busy entertaining guests and devised a sock-on-the-door system as a warning signal for the other's visitors.
Written for “Michael Douglas Memoir Revelations” on 2026-10-06,
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Michael Douglas dumped five women when he made things official with his now-wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, nearly 30 years ago.
asserted
things → dump → wife
The “Fatal Attraction” star writes in his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” that after months of courtship, Zeta-Jones told Douglas that while she understood he was coming out of his long marriage to his first wife, Diandra Luker, she said she’d only date him if they were monogamous together.
“I’m not interested in dating you if you’re dating other people,” Zeta-Jones told Douglas before asking him to choose whether to be monogamous with her.
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Jones → write → her
Douglas writes he told Zeta-Jones, “Wait here I have to make five quick calls.”
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I → write → calls
You have to make five calls?!” the “Entrapment” actress responded.
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actress → have → calls
Douglas explains in his book that following his separation from Luker in 1995 after 23 years of marriage, he began non-monogamous relationships with five women who all lived in different cities.
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who → explain → cities
“That day, I called each one to say I’d met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them,” he writes.
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he → call → them
“They all took it well.”
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They → take → it
Douglas, 82, and Zeta-Jones, 57, began dating in 1998 after meeting at Deaville American Film Festival.
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Douglas → begin → Festival
While the pair were having a drink together the night they met, Douglas, as he recalls in his books, famously told Zeta-Jones, “I’m going to be the father of your children.”
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I → have → children
That turned Zeta-Jones off, and she walked out on the pair’s date.
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she → turn → date
Douglas defends the comment in his book, insisting it “wasn’t a cheap pickup line,” but rather “it was the truth.”
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it → defend → book
“Because even though I had only gotten to know her in one evening… there was something completely different about her,” the Oscar winner says.
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winner → get → her
“Different from any other woman I had ever met.
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I → meet → woman
“She was magic, in a way that went beyond beauty,” Douglas adds of his wife.
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Douglas → go → wife
Douglas says he changed Zeta-Jones’ mind about him by sending her a bouquet with an apology note.
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he → say → note
Two years later, they tied the knot at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
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they → tie → City
The couple now share two children, son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23, who are both actors.
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who → share → children
Elsewhere in his memoir, Douglas writes about his and Zeta-Jones’ brief 2013 separation, which came after his tongue cancer battle and her bipolar disorder treatment.
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which → write → battle
“From the second we separated, I never gave up hope that we would reconcile,” Douglas says.
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Douglas → separate → hope
“I love Catherine in a way that I have never loved any other woman.”
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I → love → woman
He adds, “She’s my wife, my best friend, and my life partner.
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She → add → ?
I could never lose her.”
uncertain
I → lose → her
The couple, who share the same birthday, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last November, with Zeta-Jones penning a sweet tribute to her husband on Instagram.
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Jones → share → Instagram
“25 years ago today, I walked down the aisle,” she wrote, recalling Douglas “waiting for me, looking at me the way only you can.”
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you → walk → me
“I love you today as I did then,” Zeta-Jones added.
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Jones → love → you
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