At 82, Michael Douglas admits he was once 'ready to leave his wife' over a secret affair. A look at six major revelations from his memoir

Michael Douglas is grabbing headlines after the release of his highly anticipated debut memoir, One Helluva Ride, on October 6, 2026. Co-written with Shane Salerno, the book takes an unfiltered look at the 82-year-old Hollywood legend’s six-decade career and personal life. Douglas structures his story around 12 of his most iconic films, including Basic Instinct, Wall Street, Fatal Attraction and more. Along the way, the actor opens up about some of the relationships, controversies and unexpected moments that shaped his life away from the screen.

One of the biggest revelations comes from the set of Basic Instinct. While audiences spent years speculating about Douglas and his co-star Sharon Stone, the actor says the real romance was with someone else.

Michael Douglas was ready to leave his wife for Jeanne Tripplehorn

The Wall Street actor revealed that he fell for Jeanne Tripplehorn while filming Basic Instinct in 1992. At the time, he was married to Diandra Luker, though he says the two had separated and were living separate lives.


The actor writes that he became deeply involved with Tripplehorn, who was nearly 20 years younger than him. According to Douglas, his feelings were strong enough that he seriously considered ending his marriage.

Douglas recalled in the memoir, "In fact, I was ready to officially leave my wife for Jeanne. I was crazy about her.". Their relationship continued through the production of the film, but the two eventually went their separate ways after filming ended.

For the unversed, Jeanne played Dr Beth Garner in the erotic thriller, while Douglas played homicide detective Nick Curran. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, played crime novelist Catherine Tramell, the character whose relationship with Curran fuelled much of the film’s intrigue.

Besides this, there are six other major revelations from his memoir.

He and Kathleen Turner secretly had an affair

Another revelation is about Michael Douglas’ famous onscreen chemistry with Kathleen Turner. The pair starred together in Romancing the Stone in 1984, and their chemistry had long been a talking point.

Douglas now claims that the attraction was not restricted to the movie. He writes that he and Turner secretly met in each other’s hotel rooms while they were filming the adventure comedy. At the time, Douglas was still married to Luker but described their relationship as separated. The affair eventually came to an end after Luker confronted Turner about it.



Douglas also reveals that he and Turner spent decades keeping the relationship private. The two continued to tell the public that, despite their obvious chemistry and flirting, nothing romantic had happened between them.

According to Douglas, "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 … It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years."

Turner has also reacted to the revelation and said, "Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago! I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book.”

Catherine Zeta-Jones changed his approach to relationships

The legendary's actor relationship with Catherine Zeta-Jones is another major part of the memoir. The actor met Zeta-Jones in 1998, and their relationship soon became serious.

Douglas writes that before committing to the actress, he had to end several other relationships. He says he made five phone calls to women he had been seeing, telling each of them that he had met someone and would no longer continue seeing them.

"Five quick phone calls. None of them asked for a commitment or even asked what else I was up to,” he added. “I am sure they were seeing other people, too. That day, I called each one to say I’d met somebody and would no longer be able to continue seeing them. They all took it well."

The actor has described that moment as a turning point in his personal life. He and Zeta-Jones eventually married in 2000 and have remained together till now.

He once confronted Julia Roberts while drunk

Michael Douglas also recalls an awkward incident involving Julia Roberts at a 1990 Golden Globes party.

According to the actor, cited by The Hollywood Reporter, he had been drinking when he noticed the actress with her arm around his 13-year-old son. Douglas says he reacted angrily and confronted the actress, making a harsh remark about her and the Golden Globe she had won.

He later realised that his reaction had gone too far. Douglas apologised to Roberts and also sent flowers to her and her then-fiancé Kiefer Sutherland. While Douglas says he remained friends with Sutherland, his relationship with Notting Hill actress apparently did not recover in the same way.

His wife caught him with another woman

One of the more personal revelations in the memoir involves an incident in which Luker allegedly caught Douglas with another woman.

Douglas recounts that he and Luker were in Los Angeles when she decided not to spend the night with him. He subsequently invited another woman to the hotel room. He says Luker returned unexpectedly and caught the pair together.

According to Douglas, his wife then gave him a choice between rehab and divorce. He chose rehab. Douglas also claims that Luker had relationships of her own during their troubled marriage.

An FBI agent warned him about a threat at the Oscars

Not all of Douglas’ revelations are about relationships. One of the most stories involves the 1992 Academy Awards.

Michael Douglas states in his memoir that an FBI agent stopped him at the Shrine Auditorium and warned him about a creditble threat against him. According to the actor, someone inside the venue allegedly wanted to stab him with an HIV-infected needle.

Douglas says he was "terrified" after receiving the warning. However, he still went ahead with his role at the ceremony, where he presented the Best Actress award alongside Jodie Foster. “As I walked out, I took a quick glance into the crowd to make sure that no one was rushing to the stage.”

The incident is among the many behind-the-scenes stories Douglas uses to look back at a career that has spanned six decades.