Catherine Zeta-Jones knows her worth.
Back in 1998, Michael Douglas got an early look at The Mask of Zorro. It was a screening that changed his life forever.
Weeks later he’d bump into her at a film festival in France, and that’s when he knew.
Soon after he got on the phone with his publicist. He wanted a date, but in the business, you play it cool and ask for a “meeting” over drinks or dinner.
His people talked to her people, and the wheels got in motion.
Quickly becoming entranced with her beauty, wit, and confidence, Michael could feel deep down she was the one.
In an excerpt from his new book, One Helluva Ride, he admits he was still seeing multiple women when they started dating.
He’d been separated from his first wife, Diandra Douglas, for a few years at that point. Their divorce wasn’t final yet, and he was enjoying himself on the field.
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This was Catherine Zeta-Jones though. She was the new leading lady in Hollywood, and she knew she could do better than wait around. She liked him, but she loved herself enough to know when to draw a line.
He reveals she gave him a big ultimatum:
“She told me she understood that I was a single guy who’d come out of a long marriage, but she would only be monogamous.”
She told him:
“I’m not interested in dating you if you’re dating other people. You can either continue with them or end it and be with me.”
He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t get defensive. He knew it was time to end things with all FIVE other women.
“I told her wait here I have to make five quick calls.”
Hilariously, she reacted:
“Five? You have to make five calls?”
LOLz!
The 82-year-old Oscar winner explains:
“Just after my marriage, I had been seeing five other women. They knew I was recently separated and in the process of getting a divorce. I made sure they all lived in different cities, which felt like a respectful way to be non-monogamous.”
Respectful? Perhaps. Good for the airline industry’s bottom line? Definitely.
And while he had fun with all those women, none of them did it for him the way Catherine did. So that’s why it was a no-brainer when she dropped the ultimatum. No ego. All heart.
“That day, I called each one to say I met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them. They all took it well.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Michael eventually finalized his divorce from Diandra, reportedly giving her a cool $45 million in the settlement, and paved the way for his marriage to Catherine.
They wed on November 18, 2000 in New York City’s historic Plaza Hotel. They have two children, Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23.
One Helluva Ride is available in bookstores now. Will you be picking up a copy?
[Image via Sidewalk/WENN]
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