Michael Douglas knows the secret to keeping things spicy in a long-term marriage.
Douglas, 74, exclusively told Us Weekly exactly how he and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones make their relationship feel fresh.
“I think it just comes out of courtesy,” Douglas told Us at the Paley Center Honors on Thursday, September 12. “You know, I think sometimes we take the person closest to us for granted. I would say sometimes we make more of an effort with strangers than we do with the person who’s closest to us. And I’ve always tried to remember how fortunate I am and what an extraordinary lady she is and daily remember [of] that kind of respect.”
After nearly 19 years of marriage, the Wall Street star has also learned how to keep their disagreements civil. He says it’s important to “talk things out.”
“It’s taken me a long time but resentment is an easy thing to keep under the surface. I think most of the times it’s really good to get things out sooner than later,” Douglas told Us.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones, 49, recently tackled the hurdle of becoming empty nesters when they sent their son Dylan off to college for the fall. In addition to Dylan, 19, the couple are also parents of daughter Carys, 16.
Douglas says he shed some “happy tears,” but Dylan “settled right in” as the whole family goes through a “moment of moving on for all of us.”
“Our daughter’s away now too so we’re looking at each other and we’re at an empty nest earlier than we anticipated. This is a whole change and it’s great because we have all the flexibility in the world, but obviously there’s going to be a lot less conversations about the kids,” Douglas told Us.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones tied the knot in 2000.
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With reporting by Nicki Gostin
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