Michael Douglas has revealed what he cherishes most about his wife of 26 years, Catherine Zeta-Jones, during a radio appearance promoting his memoir. The 82-year-old actor, who married the Welsh actress in 2000, shared a personal ritual that has helped sustain their marriage.
A bathroom tap dance ritual
Speaking to Heart Radio presenters Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston on Friday (October 30), Douglas explained that Zeta-Jones was a British tap dancing champion as a child. "The thing I love the most I must say, that I never get tired of, is Catherine [was] a British tap dancing champion when she was like seven years old so sometimes I say to her, 'Come on let's go into the bathroom', [which has] a marble floor, and she says 'Okay' and I get a few taps," he shared.
The revelation surprised Theakston, who asked: "You get her to dance for you in the bathroom?" Douglas confirmed, "In the bathroom yeah," prompting Holden to respond: "I love that, it's exotic."
The secret to a lasting marriage
The presenters also revisited a recent conversation with Zeta-Jones, during which the Chicago star described herself as "the boss" in their marriage. Douglas agreed with his wife's assessment, joking: "Happy wife, happy life."
The couple share two children, Dylan and Carys, and have been married since 2000.
Early days and a blunt warning
During a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Douglas recalled the warning Zeta-Jones gave him when they first began dating. At the time, he had separated from his first wife, Diandra Luker, and admitted he was "seeing some other people at the time" while pursuing a relationship with Zeta-Jones.
"When I courted Catherine, she told me, 'If we are doing this, you need to clean your act up'," he explained. Realising he did not want to jeopardise the relationship, Douglas recalled having "to call five women to break things off". He ultimately committed to Zeta-Jones, and the couple have now been married for 26 years.
In his memoir, One Helluva Ride: The Explosive Memoir, Douglas also reflects on a relationship with his former co-star Kathleen Turner while he was separated from Luker. Speaking to The Sun, he said: "This was all, as I say, BC, before Catherine. We have a 25-year age difference. So I don't feel bad. I think she understands."
Douglas also opened up about the challenges of his first marriage, explaining that he and Luker married soon after meeting. "I must have asked Diandra to get married about 30 days after I knew her. And so, needless to say, we had a lot of ground to cover. She was a beautiful lady. I obviously was infatuated with her, but she never knew anything about Hollywood, and I was already into my alcohol and drug phase."
"She knew nothing about any of that. So we had our struggles. For instance the realisation that I had an affair with Kathleen Turner on Romancing the Stone. We were separated, Diandra and I at the time, but still that happened," he added.
