Catherine Zeta-Jones reveals the secrets of her (long-lived) marriage to Michael Douglas

I’m married for almost twenty-one years, they have two children, yet Catherine Zeta-Jones, 51 years old and Michael Douglas, 76, are more and more in love. And to think that at the beginning no one bet on their union, also because of the age difference: “My husband is twenty-five years older than me, this is no secret, ”the actress said in a recent interview with WSJ Magazine. «Ma we continue to have a great time together“. The secret of their long-lasting marriage? “We have never lost our sense of humor and we respect our spaces. We too like all couples have ups and downs. But without ever losing sight of ours fixed points: to love and respect each other».

Catherine and her husband have another secret: thanks to their job as actors they can “spend a lot of time together“. “Unlike most couples, we’ve never had a job that takes us from nine in the morning to five in the evening. There are times when I work sixteen hours a day, and others when I don’t work at all. The same goes for him. Thanks to this, in the course of our relationship we have had many opportunities to be together for a long time. Thanks to that, we were able live for twelve years on an island in Bermuda, where we raised our children».

Catherine e Michael they first met in 1998 at the French festival of Deauville, where she presented The mask of Zorro, lui Perfect crime. She was a rising star, he, son of Spartacus-Kirk Douglas, was an accomplished actor. As soon as he saw Catherine, Michael thought: “She is the most beautiful woman in the world. I will marry her“. So he made sure that the mutual friend Danny DeVito presented them. And he wasted no time: “I want to be the father of your children“, He told her. At first she didn’t listen to him: “I thought: if he thinks I’m the type to fall at the feet of any Michael Douglas, he is wrong.” Three months later they were engaged. In August of 2000 the firstborn Dylan was born, in November, after Michael’s divorce from his first wife Diandra Luker (with whom he had the son Cameron) the wedding and then, in 2003, Carys was born.

Everything went smoothly until her throat cancer (caused by “oral sex abuse”) and her diagnosis of bipolar disorder put them to the test. In 2013 they separated, but after a few months they got back together and in 2014 they renewed their wedding vows. They have never left each other since.