Michael Douglas was utterly smitten from the moment he met his now-wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, but it appears other men were feeling a similar way upon meeting the stunner. Michael, now 82, has revealed that a famous NBA player actually had an eye for Catherine around the same time that he did, making for some tough competition when it came to wooing her.
Who Was The Other Man?
In Michael’s new memoir, ‘One Helluva Ride’, he shared that Kobe Bryant seemed somewhat keen on Catherine. After Michael and Catherine crossed paths at the Deaville American Film Festival in France back in 1998 they were forced to spend some time apart as they lived in different areas. However, Catherine’s home in the Pacific Palisades was apparently “right below” Kobe’s, and he seemed to find lots of reasons to pay her a visit.
Speaking about it jokingly, Michael said: “Apparently Kobe kept finding excuses to stop by Catherine’s house. I’m not sure how many times he ‘lost his dog’ but it was a lot!”
At the time Kobe had not yet met Vanessa Laine, who he would go on to marry in 2001.
Smitten couple Michael and Catherine went on to get engaged on New Year’s Eve in 1999, and married the following year at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
They’re still together to this day and share two children together called Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23. Michael also has another child called Cameron, 47, from a previous relationship with his ex-wife Diandra Douglas who he split from in 1995.
Michael on Monogamy
Before meeting Catherine, Michael had not long split from his ex-wife and was seeing five different women in different cities. He described in his memoir that this was a deliberate choice as it felt like the most respectful way he could think of to practice non-monogamy.
He noted: “I made sure they all lived in different cities, which felt like a respectful way to be non-monogamous. None of them asked for a commitment or even asked what else I was up to. I am sure they were seeing other people, too.”
However when he met Catherine and the duo appeared to become taken with each other, she set Michael an ultimatum: call it off with everyone else that you’re seeing and commit to what we’re building or it’s over.
Speaking to Catherine, Michael simply asked her if she could give him some time as he would have to make “five quick calls”. This seemed to shock Catherine who responded with: “Five? You have to make five calls?”
Though Michael followed through and made each oft he five calls on the same day. Speaking about the calls, Michael said: “That day, I called each one to say I met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them. They all took it well.”
Congratulations to Michael on the release of his memoir, ‘One Helluva Ride’, and we commend him on being so open and honest in its tell-all content.
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Michael Douglas Reveals He Was Competing With Famous NBA Player For Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Heart