Michael Douglas Details Past Secret Affair With Much Younger Co-Star

Before he found love with his second wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas says he had a brief, secret affair with his Basic Instinct co-star, Jeanne Tripplehorn, despite their nearly 20-year age gap.

In his newly released memoir One Helluva Ride, the longtime actor addressed rumors that he dated Sharon Stone while co-starring in the 1992 film; he was married to his first wife, Diandra Luker, during production. Although he didn’t date Stone, he did date fellow cast member Jeanne, whom he said he was crazy about.

“The truth is, I fell very hard for Jeanne despite our nearly 20-year age difference,’ he wrote. “In fact, I was ready to officially leave my wife for Jeanne. I was crazy about her.”

However, Douglas admitted the affair was short-lived. “My relationship with Jeanne lasted through production,” he noted. “Then we went our separate ways. But I will always think of her as an amazing actress and a truly terrific woman that I was very fortunate to spend time with.”

Along with Tripplehorn, Douglas revealed he had an affair with his Romancing the Stone co-star, Kathleen Turner, after they met on the set of the 1984 film.

“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,” he explained in the book. “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.“

“The truth is that during the production of Romancing the Stone, Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship,” he pointed out. “It was 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.”

Douglas married Luker in 1977. The marriage ended in 1995. The actor later married Zeta-Jones in 2000.