Why Michael Douglas Hid His Kathleen Turner Romance for 40 Years

Updated 21:04 2 Oct 2026 GMT+1Published 20:58 2 Oct 2026 GMT+1

Douglas and Turner struck up a romance on the set of Romancing the Stone, but repeatedly denied they were dating

Michael Douglas has finally revealed that he was in a secret relationship with Kathleen Turner.

The pair worked together on the 1984 blockbuster Romancing the Stone, and four decades later, he's revealed that a lot of romancing did in fact go on in Mexico.

Douglas, 82, is gearing up to release his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, in which he made the shock revelation.

"I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other," he penned, in an excerpt obtained by PEOPLE.

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He also noted how at the time of the secret romance, 'things at home were in a bad place.'

The pair struck up a romance while on the movie Romancing the Stone(Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

At the time, he was separated from his his then-wife Diandra Douglas, who he shares his son Cameron with. He noted that they were both having 'extramarital affairs' and revealed he had a romance with the screenwriter on the film, Diane Thomas, before his relationship with Turner.

Due to their onscreen chemistry, fans had been suspecting for years that the Douglas and Turner had chemistry off screen too. However, the pair constantly denied it.

Romancing the Stone wasn't the only film the two had worked on together. They also starred alongside each other in Jewel of the Nile and War of the Roses.

On why they kept their romance private, Douglas revealed in his memoir that it was 'to protect his wife and son.'

The pair played romantic partners, Jack and Joan in the hit movie. The characters started off as strangers, before they gradually fell for each other.

However, unlike their onscreen romance, the partnership between the actors came to an end when Diandra and their son, Cameron, came to visit Douglas in Mexico.

Due to 'women's intuition' Douglas wrote that she 'grew suspicious of the pair.'

Douglas is now married to Catherine Zeta-Jones (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

She then made it clear that they were still married, although Douglas noted that 'her view of the terms of our separation was different from mine.'

Turner 'didn't want to interfere,' and Douglas later got back with his wife, for the sake of their son. However, he admits they 'shouldn't have gotten back together.'

Douglas and his wife eventually divorced in 1995. The Oscar winner then went on to marry Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2000. The couple share two children together.

Turner went on to marry Jay Weiss, who she split with in 2005.

Despite Douglas and Turner continuously denying their relationship, during an interview with ABC News' Juju Chang, Turner said she 'wanted to' have an affair with Douglas during the movie.

"I thought we were falling madly in love, and he was separated from his first wife, and I was unattached. But then Diana, his wife, flew down to Mexico and made it clear that they were still married," she said.

Douglas and Zeta-Jones are still going strong after 26 years of marriage. Just this week, the Chicago actor told AARP Movies for Grownups that their ideal date night consists of watching a sports game, as they're both huge fans.

Featured Image Credit: John Lamparski/WireImage

Topics: Celebrity