Michael Douglas recently released his tell-all memoir titled ‘One Helluva Ride’, and in its pages he’s been candid about all kinds of topics – including how his now-wife Catherine Zeta-Jones turned him away from a streak of non-monogamy. However, Catherine took her time when it came to building trust with Michael and made it clear that she wanted to take their relationship slowly.
What Did The Memoir Reveal?
When Michael met Catherine, he was instantly smitten by not just her beautiful looks but also her brains. He gushed in his book: “She was smart, funny, unpretentious, and, yes, breathtakingly beautiful. She just seemed so confident and self-assured, too.”
At the time the star was seeing five other women in addition to Catherine, each scattered across a different city so no one would bump into each other.
Speaking about taking things slow, Michael shared: “I looked forward to seeing her whenever I could. It wasn’t that often, but I drank up every moment. What started as the two of us getting to know each other slowly turned into the longest courtship I had ever undertaken! I had always been inclined to slip right into physical intimacy, but with Catherine, I was willing to take whatever time we both needed.”
Michael added: “As Catherine said, I didn’t want her to become just another ex-girlfriend on my list, and she didn’t want Michael Douglas to become just another ex-boyfriend on hers.”
After around nine months of courtship, Michael shared that he went on a trip to Mallorca with Catherine and invited her to stay at his holiday home there with the promise that she could have her own bedroom. Michael’s friend Pat Riley and his wife of 30 years Chris also came along for the trip, which Michael hoped would portray him as more than just a “ladies man”.
He noted: “That, I hoped, would offset my ‘reputation’ that Catherine had mentioned the first night we met. This was important to me. Catherine was very important to me. And I thought that having my treasured friends around would help Catherine feel comfortable. Turns out, I was right.”
After getting intimate on the trip, Catherine gave Michael an ultimatum: if she were to date him he had to stop seeing other people. So Michael called each of the five other ladies he had been seeing one at a time to bid farewell to their connection and instead focus his attention and affections on Catherine and Catherine alone.
Michael and Catherine Today
Michael and Catherine got married in the year 2000 and share two children together – Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23. Today, Michael feels that his connection with Catherine only continues to deepen as the years go by. He noted in his book that with her he feels an indescribable sense of peace and a bond like no other, noting: “There’s just an unknown at a certain point over time. It goes beyond being attracted to somebody in this matter. It’s just an unknown bond of being close and… a mutual respect.”
We wish Michael and Catherine all the best and commend Michael on his openness in his memoir.
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Michael Douglas Reveals How Long Catherine Zeta-Jones Made Him Wait For Intimacy