Michael Douglas got Jean Tripplehorn’s approval before writing about their affair in his explosive new memoir.
“I talked to her before I put it in the book,” he told Page Six in an exclusive interview, before assuring that “she was fine with it”.
In “One Helluva Ride,” the actor revealed he had a heated altercation with Tripplehorn, 63, while filming “Basic Instinct.”
At the time of the film’s release, many people assumed that Douglas was having an affair with another female co-star, Sharon Stone, because of their steamy scenes together.
“The truth is, despite our nearly 20-year age difference, I was very attracted to Jean,” the Oscar winner — who was married to his first wife Diandra Luker at the time — shared in the book.
“In fact, I was officially ready to leave my wife for Jean. I was crazy about her.”
However, the “Wall Street” star said he knew that leaving a marriage of nearly two decades and jumping straight into a more serious relationship would be “the worst thing” for him.
“My relationship with Jean lasted until production, then we went our separate ways,” the 82-year-old writes in the book.
“But I will always think of her as an amazing actress and a truly wonderful woman who I had the pleasure of spending time with.”
Douglas eventually divorced Looker, and since 2000 he has been married to 57-year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones. Tripplehorn married actor Leland Orser, 66, in 2000.
The Oscar winner also told Page Six that he hasn’t seen Tripplehorn “in years,” but called it an “important” relationship.
He said, “These things are not just about affairs. These are about important friendships and working together. She was fine. They have been married for a long time.”
The book also includes stories from Douglas’s affair with Kathleen Turner during the filming of “Romancing the Stone”, his cocaine addiction, his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones, and his battle with cancer.