Michael Douglas Reveals How He Got Approval to Write About His Secret Romance With Kathleen Turner in His Memoir

Michael Douglas got approval from Kathleen Turner to reveal their romance in his new memoir.

The star's book, One Helluva Ride, was released on Tuesday, October 6, and has made quite a stir following its many revelations — chief among them the 40-year-old love story between the leads of Romancing the Stone.

In the book, Douglas wrote about how he and Turner "fell hard for each other" while filming the 1984 movie.

Asked why he wanted to share this part of his life now after decades of silence, he said in a new interview, "I believe that I wanted to be as open in so many areas as possible and as transparent, and so I called Kathleen up and asked her."

"I said, 'You know, obviously you're a really important part of my life and my story, but we've never really 'fessed up to the fact that we had an affair during the picture,'" he explained. "Mind you, I had separated from my wife Diandra [Luker] at the time. We were living in separate homes."

"I said, 'So I'd like to [write about it].' And she said, 'Sure. I understand that.' And that's just a whole great story, because it went from the success of Romancing the Stone, what it did for Kathleen becoming a big star," Douglas continued. "She was just an important part and that was a part of our relationship."

Because Douglas was technically still married to Luker at the time and wanted to protect their son, Cameron, he and Turner weren't truthful with the press.

He explained in the book, "The official story went as follows: Yes, we confessed, we had amazing chemistry. Yes, we were both, as Kathleen said, 'terrible flirts,' and yes, we were both tempted, but nothing ever happened between us … It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years."

After all the brouhaha that has resulted from the confession, the woman in question issued a statement essentially telling everyone to calm down.

"Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago!" she quipped. "I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book."

Douglas' divorce from Luker wasn't finalized until 2000, which is also the year he married Catherine Zeta-Jones, his wife of 26 years.

The two share children Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23.