Michael Douglas has plenty of Hollywood secrets to tell.
But the Oscar winner pushed back when a reporter turned his colorful dating history into a bedroom interrogation. Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, will celebrate their 26th anniversary next month.
But ahead of the milestone, he revealed little-known secrets from his early years, offering a glimpse into his private life and the women from his past.
Douglas made it clear he had no interest in defending every romantic decision he made decades ago.
The 82-year-old actor is promoting his new memoir, “One Helluva Ride.” He was willing to discuss his past, but he wasn’t about to let someone else write the script.
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During an Oct. 4 interview with The Sunday Times, the reporter asked Douglas whether he had ever wondered why he slept with so many women.
The question apparently struck a nerve.
“I don’t know if I slept with so many women, I don’t see it that way. No, not me, no. I was a healthy product of the ’60s,” Douglas replied.
He then turned the tables on his interviewer.
“My curiosity is why, of all countries, of all the press that I do, why are the Brits so consumed with the issues of sex?”
The reporter pushed further, suggesting his memoir focused heavily on sexual encounters.
“I didn’t feel like it was. I mention a couple [of women] in the book,” Douglas insisted.
But the reporter had receipts. Douglas describes making five quick phone calls to women he had been seeing before committing exclusively to his wife.
“No, no, it’s not what it was,” Douglas snapped back.
“What Catherine said is, if we’re going to continue this then I want it to be monogamous,” he explained. “And so I therefore, that evening, you know, made some calls to some people I was seeing, and that was that.”
Douglas did not identify the five women. However, his memoir exposes other romantic secrets. These include an affair with Kathleen Turner during the filming of their 1984 movie, “Romancing the Stone.”
The pair denied their relationship for four decades. Douglas also acknowledges relationships with screenwriter Diane Thomas and actress Jeanne Tripplehorn, according to Page Six.
Instagram users had plenty to say about his romantic history.
“Imagine his number vs your number,” one person wrote beneath The Times’ post.
Another who wasn’t impressed said: “He’s always been so immature when it comes to sex with women. Like a high schooler. Still is.”
“Look closely at the face of Catherine Zeta-Jones. Do you really see a happy puppy, or a face in distress………….Look again,” added a third voice.
Someone else declared, “I think he must … shut up. this embarrassing.” One fan dismissed the controversy entirely, writing, “Who cares… He’s a great actor.”
Douglas also rejected decades-old reports that he entered rehabilitation for sex addiction in 1992. He maintains that he sought treatment for alcohol abuse, not sex addiction.
The renewed attention comes after previous concerns about his health. Following his appearance at the July 2025 Karlovy Vary Film Festival, reports described the cancer survivor as looking frail.
Douglas underwent treatment for Stage 4 tongue cancer in 2010. He has since discussed stepping away from acting after nearly six decades in Hollywood.
Through it all, Zeta-Jones has remained his longtime partner.
The couple briefly separated in 2013 before reconciling. Douglas recently told Page Six that his wife was still reading his memoir. He hoped she would be understanding.
He affectionately called her his “soul mate” and praised her talent and humor.
The couple also share a birthday, Sept. 25. That coincidence inspired Douglas to give his wife another unusual nickname: “birthday sister.”
Zeta-Jones returned the affection in her birthday tribute, writing, “Happy birthday, darling. I can’t think of anyone else to share a birthday with.”
After nearly 26 years of marriage, Douglas appears content with the woman who convinced him to stop making those other calls.
