NEWSMichael Douglas Says He Called 'Five' Women to End Things Before Dating Catherine Zeta-Jones: 'They All Took It Well'
Michael Douglas revealed he had five women to call after Catherine Zeta-Jones asked him to be exclusive.
Oct. 6 2026, Published 1:32 p.m. ET
Michael Douglas was dating five women when Catherine Zeta-Jones asked him to make their relationship exclusive.
The actor, 82, detailed the surprising confession in his new memoir, One Helluva Ride.
Catherine Zeta-Jones Wanted Exclusivity with Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas recalled telling Catherine Zeta-Jones he needed to make 'five quick calls.'
Douglas had separated from his first wife, Diandra Luker, in 1995 after 23 years of marriage when he began seeing five women who lived in different cities.
After months of courting Zeta-Jones, 57, she asked to make things exclusive.
"I'm not interested in dating you if you're dating other people," Zeta-Jones reportedly told him.
"Wait here, I have to make five quick calls," Douglas recalled telling her.
"Five? You have to make five calls?!" the actress responded.
Michael Douglas Ended Five Relationships
Michael Douglas said 'they all took it well.'
Douglas wrote that he followed through with calling all five women.
"That day, I called each one to say I’d met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them," he wrote. "They all took it well."
Douglas and Zeta-Jones began dating in 1998 after meeting at the Deauville American Film Festival.
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Michael Douglas' Bold First-Date Prediction
Michael Douglas made a bold prediction about Catherine Zeta-Jones on their first date.
While having a drink with Zeta-Jones on the night they met, Douglas famously told her, "I'm going to be the father of your children."
The comment reportedly sent Zeta-Jones walking out on the date.
Douglas defended the declaration in his memoir, writing that it "wasn’t a cheap pickup line," but rather "it was the truth."
"Because even though I had only gotten to know her in one evening... there was something completely different about her. Different from any other woman I had ever met." the actor explained.
"She was magic, in a way that went beyond beauty," Douglas added. "I was certain, as much as I had ever been about anything, that she was the one."
Douglas eventually won her back with a bouquet of flowers and an apology note.
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones' Lasting Romance
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones married two years after beginning their relationship.
Two years after they began dating, Douglas and Zeta-Jones married and welcomed two children.
The couple briefly separated in 2013 following Douglas' battle with tongue cancer and Zeta-Jones' treatment for bipolar disorder.
"From the second we separated, I never gave up hope that we would reconcile," Douglas wrote in his new memoir. "I love Catherine in a way that I have never loved any other woman."
He added, "She's my wife, my best friend, and my life partner. I could never lose her."
