Michael Douglas admits to having had a secret relationship with Kathleen Turner after 40 years of lying

Married to Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000, veteran actor Michael Douglas has recently spilled the beans about his unknown affair with actress Kathleen Turner after forty years in his upcoming book One Helluva Ride, which is set to be released on October 6, 2026.

According to People, the son of legendary Kirk Douglas, Michael, 82, who was married to Diandra Luker but was separated from her at the time, fell in love with the Peggy Sue Got Married actress Kathleen Turner during the production of Robert Zemeckis' adventure-drama film Romancing the Stone.

As per People, Michael Douglas, who was having marital trouble with Diandra Luker, recalled in his brand-new book meeting Kathleen Turner over lunch about the role she was supposed to play. While Turner was successful in landing the role, for which Debra Winger was initially the choice, Michael had an immediate liking for her, and both of them became attracted to each other.

Although the Fatal Attraction actor-turned-film producer Michael Douglas lied about his secret relationship with Turner for four decades, which he reportedly claimed was to protect his former wife, Diandra, and his son Cameron, he finally opened up about it in his memoir, One Helluva Ride. Below are excerpts from Michael's upcoming book:

"Kathleen was smart, funny, and sexy with a deep, sultry voice that became her signature. I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other. Things at home were in a bad place. Diandra and I were both having extramarital affairs, including my recent romance with Diane Thomas [Romancing the Stone’s screenwriter]."

Mentioning his strong chemistry with Kathleen, Michael wrote:

"The chemistry I had with Kathleen Turner was so strong, audiences have been certain for years that we were in a relationship together while making the film. We both denied it through Romancing The Stone, Jewel of the Nile, War of the Roses, and even while doing press a few years ago for The Kominsky Method."

Michael Douglas' affair with Kathleen Turner was kept a secret to protect his wife and son

Michael Douglas wrote in his memoir that the reason behind keeping his romantic relationship with Turner a secret was to protect his then-wife, Diandra, and his son Cameron. Michael wrote:

"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. That was a lie."

He then explained:

"It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years. In fact, during a People magazine interview only a few years ago Kathleen held to it, saying, 'Oh I was yearning, babe, but he was still married... It was that wonderful sexual tension, you know? When you really, really know you want somebody and I’m saying it went both ways and you can’t have them.'"

While mentioning how they both fell hard for each other, Michael Douglas wrote:

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"The truth is that during the production of Romancing the Stone, Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship. It wasn’t a fly-by-night affair; it grew naturally from how closely we were working together, how much pressure we were under, how much we respected and cared for one another, and how attracted we were to each other. Like every other guy in the world at the time, I was knocked sideways by Kathleen."

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