Michael Douglas is finally coming clean about one of Hollywood’s longest-running romantic rumors.
The 82-year-old Oscar winner has revealed that he and Kathleen Turner were secretly involved while making the 1984 hit Romancing the Stone — after the two stars spent roughly four decades publicly denying that their famous on-screen chemistry ever became something more.
Douglas makes the revelation in his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, while also speaking candidly about his colorful romantic history and pushing back against claims that he was once addicted to sex.
Asked about his reputation for having numerous relationships over the years, Douglas said he doesn’t necessarily see his past the same way others do.
“I don’t know if I slept with so many women; I don’t see it that way,” Douglas told The Times. “No, not me, no. I was a healthy product of the Sixties.”
Douglas also questioned why his sex life has remained such a persistent subject, particularly in the British press.
“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?” he said.
The Wall Street and Fatal Attraction star has also strongly rejected decades-old reports portraying him as a sex addict.
“I was never a f—ing sex addict,” Douglas writes in the memoir.
But the biggest surprise in the book may be what Douglas finally admits happened between him and Turner more than 40 years ago.
The pair met before filming Romancing the Stone, the 1984 adventure comedy that turned them into one of Hollywood’s most memorable screen couples.
Douglas writes that the attraction was immediate.
“Kathleen was smart, funny, and sexy with a deep, sultry voice that became her signature,” he recalled. “I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other.”
At the time, Douglas was still legally married to his first wife, Diandra Douglas, whom he married in 1977 and with whom he shared son Cameron.
Their marriage, however, was already deeply troubled.
Douglas has said the two were separated and involved with other people during the period. He also reveals in the memoir that before becoming involved with Turner, he had a relationship with Romancing the Stone screenwriter Diane Thomas.
As filming got underway in Mexico, Douglas said his friendship with Turner quickly became something more.
“Things at home were in a bad place,” he writes. “Diandra and I were both having extramarital affairs.”
Douglas then drops the admission fans had speculated about for decades.
“The truth is that during the production of Romancing the Stone, Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship.”
Their romance apparently remained so well hidden that even director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Danny DeVito did not know what was happening.
Douglas recalled grueling days shooting the movie in Mexico before he and Turner would quietly find time together afterward.
“We found each other first as friends, then as co-stars, and finally as lovers,” he writes.
According to Douglas, the relationship came to an abrupt end after Diandra became suspicious and arrived on the set with their young son, Cameron.
Turner ultimately decided to step away from the romance after encountering Douglas’ wife.
The ending did not destroy Douglas and Turner’s professional relationship.
They reunited for the 1985 sequel The Jewel of the Nile and again for the dark comedy The War of the Roses in 1989. Decades later, Turner also appeared opposite Douglas on Netflix’s The Kominsky Method.
Their unmistakable chemistry fueled rumors for years, but both stars repeatedly maintained that their relationship had never crossed the line into a full-blown romance.
Douglas now acknowledges that was not true.
“That was a lie,” he writes of their old denials. “It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years.”
Douglas reportedly spoke with Turner before revealing their relationship publicly and received her blessing to include the story in his memoir.
Turner, now 72, appears to have little concern about the secret finally coming out.
“Good heavens, what a fuss about something 40 years ago!” she said after Douglas’ revelation became public. “I love Michael, and I look forward to enjoying the book.”
The two stars have maintained a friendship long after their brief romance ended.
Douglas eventually reconciled with Diandra for a period, but their marriage ultimately fell apart. Their divorce was finalized in 2000 after years of separation.
That same year, Douglas married actress Catherine Zeta-Jones in a lavish ceremony at New York City’s Plaza Hotel.
Douglas and Zeta-Jones, 57, remain married more than 25 years later and share two children, Dylan and Carys.
His disclosure about Turner is just one of several personal stories Douglas tackles in One Helluva Ride, which is scheduled to be released October 6.
The memoir also looks back at his complicated relationship with his legendary father Kirk Douglas, his battles with alcohol and drugs, his experience with cancer, his son Cameron’s addiction and prison sentence, and a Hollywood career that has stretched across more than five decades.
But after all those years of speculation, one mystery surrounding Douglas’ career has finally been settled.
The sparks audiences saw between Douglas and Turner in Romancing the Stone weren’t entirely Hollywood magic.
