Michael Douglas‘ romantic history spans four decades of Hollywood, from his first marriage to Diandra Luker and quietly conducted relationships with high-profile costars to his enduring union with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Among the women tied to Douglas over the years are Romancing the Stone costar Kathleen Turner and Basic Instinct castmate Jeanne Tripplehorn — two relationships that unfolded while he was still married to Luker and that he publicly denied for decades.
Keep scrolling to revisit Douglas’ relationship history — and what he’s said about his love life:
Diandra Luker
Douglas was married to Luker, with whom he shares son Cameron, from 1977 to 1995. Their divorce finalized in 2000.
Diane Thomas
Douglas confirmed in his 2026 memoir, One Helluva Ride, that he briefly dated his Romancing the Stone screenwriter amid his separation from Luker. Douglas claimed his marriage was “in a bad place” when he was cast in the film.
Kathleen Turner
Douglas also revealed in One Helluva Ride that he and Turner dated on the Mexico set of 1984’s Romancing the Stone. While Douglas and Turner denied romance rumors across three joint films — Romancing the Stone, 1985’s Jewel of the Nile and 1989’s War of the Roses — and kept denying them as recently as 2021 while promoting The Kominsky Method.
“That was a lie,” Douglas wrote in his book. “It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years.”
Recalling his first impressions of Turner, Douglas noted, “Kathleen was smart, funny and sexy with a deep, sultry voice that became her signature. I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other. … We found each other first as friends, then as costars, and finally, as lovers.”
Their relationship ended, Douglas claimed, after Luker brought then-5-year-old son Cameron to visit the set and spoke privately with Turner about the state of the marriage.
“After that visit, Kathleen and I ended things, and I went back to Diandra,” he remembered. “I did it for Cameron, but we shouldn’t have gotten back together. After that first split, it was never the same between us ever again.”
Turner, who was married to Jay Weiss from 1984 to 2007, offered a brief statement to People about the book revelations.
“Good heavens, what a fuss about something 40 years ago,” she said in October 2026. “I love Michael, and I look forward to enjoying the book.”
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Douglas also used his memoir to shut down a long-running rumor that he dated Sharon Stone during 1992’s Basic Instinct, clarifying he was actually involved with their castmate Tripplehorn.
“The truth is, I fell very hard for Jeanne despite our nearly 20-year age difference,” he wrote in another passage, obtained by Page Six in October 2026. “In fact, I was ready to officially leave my wife for Jeanne. I was crazy about her.”
The romance ended with production.
“My relationship with Jeanne lasted through production, then we went our separate ways,” Douglas added. “I will always think of her as an amazing actress and a truly terrific woman that I was very fortunate to spend time with.”
Douglas’ memoir cowriter, Shane Salerno, told People the actor called both Turner and Tripplehorn to ask permission before writing about them.
“I didn’t name anybody for the sake of notches on your holster or something like that,” Douglas stressed to People. “These are people that I’ve had relationships with in my life.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Douglas met actress Zeta-Jones at the Deauville Film Festival in France in August 1998, where they were introduced by then-couple Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. Douglas proposed on New Year’s Eve 1999 at his home in Aspen, one year before the pair welcomed son Dylan in August 2000. Douglas and Zeta-Jones wed at the Plaza Hotel in New York City that November in a reported $1.5 million ceremony. They expanded their family with daughter Carys in April 2003.
“I had been told Michael Douglas wanted to meet me,” Zeta-Jones told Larry King in a 2001 interview of meeting her now-spouse. “I was a little nervous because I didn’t quite know what he wanted to meet me about.”
The pair’s marriage has since weathered Douglas’ 2010 stage IV throat cancer diagnosis, Zeta-Jones’ 2011 treatment for bipolar II disorder and a brief eight-month separation in 2013.
“I’m crazy about her and, yeah, I think every couple has their difficult times,” Douglas said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show of reconciling in 2014.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones marked 25 years of marriage in November 2025.
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
