Catherine Zeta-Jones has revealed that staying busy with work is the secret to her long marriage to Michael Douglas. The 56-year-old Welsh actress, known for roles in Chicago and Ocean's Twelve, has been working on Prime Video drama Kill Jackie, where she plays the lead role of Jackie Price, as well as continuing to star as Morticia in the Netflix series Wednesday, a reboot of The Addams Family.
A Busy Marriage
Asked for the secret to their long-term relationship, she replied "working" and added: "Michael is, like, 'Do that job, that's amazing.' Then he's able to fly in and see me.
"Much better than waking up, going, 'What do you want for breakfast, honey?' I don't think our marriage would ever have lasted if it was like that."
She met Douglas, 81, at the Deauville Film Festival in France in August 1998 after he told her he would "father her children" in his chat-up lines. The couple got engaged a year later and tied the knot during a lavish ceremony at The Plaza hotel in New York in 2000.
Overcoming Struggles
Despite briefly separating in 2013, the couple have stayed together through personal struggles including Douglas's battle with stage four throat cancer and Zeta-Jones's public treatment for bipolar II disorder.
In an interview with the Sunday Times' Culture magazine, Zeta-Jones also reflected on how her children, who are in their 20s, are finding their footing in their respective acting careers.
On 'Nepo Baby' Label
She also gave her opinion about the "nepo baby" label assigned to those who achieve success and career opportunities largely thanks to their famous or wealthy parents. "They're plugging away," she said of her children Dylan, 26, and 23-year-old Carys.
"My daughter wanted to be Amal Clooney for a while. But you have to go with your dreams, your passion," she said, referencing the international human rights lawyer who is married to actor George Clooney. "It's hard for them to forge a way forward on their own.
"This horrific phrase 'nepo baby' is horrible because these kids didn't ask to be born into this, they're finding their own way in life. But they love it, and they're good. Otherwise, Michael and I would be the first to go, 'You know what? Maybe law school looks really good.'"
Kill Jackie is on Prime Video from Oct 2.
