By Page Six | Created at 2026-10-13 17:20:01 | Updated at 2026-10-13 19:40:25
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Michael Douglas explained that he and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones “had to change” to save their marriage following their brief 2013 split.
“And sometimes I think it’s just good to kind of call time out and just talk as two human beings,” the “Basic Instinct” star said in his recent interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer while promoting his memoir, “One Helluva Ride.”
Douglas, who has been married to Zeta-Jones, 57, since 2000, also detailed what he learned during their separation.
“How much I loved her. How much I missed her. How much laughs we had together,” he told Sawyer, 80.
Douglas, 82, and Zeta-Jones famously separated in 2013, but they reunited by the following year.
In his memoir, Douglas explained that after coming home from vacation, the couple “decided to take some time apart” after they “just had gone through a period where a number of challenges came at us all at once.”
At the time, Douglas was in remission from his stage four cancer battle, while Zeta-Jones went to treatment for her bipolar disorder.
“We still loved each other immensely, but we needed to make sure that being married was the right thing for all of us,” Douglas wrote, describing the split as “incredibly difficult” for both actors.
He continued, “Catherine and I have a very intense, deep love for each other. And we love our kids dearly. We worked hard to make sure they understood that this wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”
Later in his tell-all book, the “Wall Street” star, who shares son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23, with his longtime wife, said he “never gave up hope” that the pair would get back together.
“As Catherine and I were seeing each other more surrounding the kids—school functions, drop-offs, extracurricular activities—we realized we both missed each other enormously,” Douglas wrote.
“Taking time away helped reignite the spark that had brought us together.”
During an exclusive interview with Page Six last week, Douglas confirmed Zeta-Jones was the middle of reading his memoir, which includes details about his past romances and secret affairs.
But the “Wednesday” actress recently admitted on “Today” that she’s too busy to finish Douglas’ book.
“As much as I love my husband, when I’m tired at night, I have no intention of reading about him. At all,” she said.
“But everyone else should [read it],” the “Chicago” star told the audience. “The book is called ‘One Helluva Ride,’ and I think everyone should hold on to their cowboy hats, because I think it is.”
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