Michael Douglas reveals he had another affair with Basic Instinct co-star with a 20-year age gap
Michael Douglas has revealed that he didn’t have just one affair with a co-star, but that he went on to have two, and it was so serious that it almost ended his marriage.
The actor’s new memoir, One Helluva Ride, wasn’t kidding when it chose its title.
In the weeks since it was released, Douglas’ relationships and overlapping love interests have been made public, and now, his relationship with Jeanne Tripplehorn has entered the chat.
You might be thinking that during the time of his filming Basic Instinct, Douglas had been married to his first wife, Diandra Luker, and you’d be correct.
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However, he detailed in his book that he was close to ending it with her after realizing he was developing feelings for his much-younger co-star.
The actor, who says he received approval from Tripplehorn to write about their relationship, remained married to Luker despite wanting to be with the actress.
"The truth is, I fell very hard for Jeanne despite our nearly 20-year age difference," Douglas wrote in his book.
However, this is the second time the actor has revealed an affair behind his then-wife's back, whom he shares a son – Cameron – with.
Douglas, 82, confirmed that he’d also been with Kathleen Turner and that the pair had 'fallen hard' for each other during the 1984 movie, Romancing the Stone in Mexico, in an excerpt shared with PEOPLE.
But he had been separated from his wife at the time, only to rekindle their marriage, and he and Turner split.
While Turner and Douglas’ romance wasn’t enough to break his marriage, Tripplehorn nearly was.
"In fact, I was ready to officially leave my wife for Jeanne. I was crazy about her,” he wrote.
"My relationship with Jeanne lasted through production, then we went our separate ways," Douglas went on to confirm.
He later divorced Luker three years later, with it being finalized in 2000, the same year he married Catherine Zeta-Jones.
It’s also the same year Tripplehorn married actor Leland Orser.
Now, you might be wondering what the reaction has been from the women he has spoken about in his book, and when it concerns Turner, it turns out she doesn’t care all that much.
Commenting on how shocked people have been about the affair admission, Turner told PEOPLE: “Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago!
“I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book.”
As for why the pair had denied their relationship for so long, Douglas was upfront about that too.
In his memoir, Douglas claimed the 'official story' was saved for the press.
He wrote of their agreement: "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."
Douglas explained: "It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years."
But Turner wasn’t the only person from the movie who had an affair with Douglas.
The Oscar winner admitted to having a romantic relationship with Diane Thomas whilst in Mexico, too.
He wrote: "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]."
"I left for Mexico still technically married, but separated," he continued.
"It wasn’t a fly-by night affair; it grew naturally from how closely we were working together," he penned.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Britt Jones