Michael Douglas revealed that he and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones “had to change” to save their marriage after their brief 2013 split.
“And sometimes I think it’s good to just take the time to talk like two human beings,” the “Basic Instinct” star Said in his recent interview with ABC News’s Diane Sawyer While promoting his memoir, “One Helluva Ride”.
Douglas, who has been married to Zeta-Jones, 57, since 2000, also detailed what she learned during their split.
He told Sawyer, 80, “How much I loved her. How much I missed her. How much we laughed together.”
Douglas, 82, and Zeta-Jones split in 2013, but reunited the following year.
In his memoir, Douglas explained that after coming home from the holidays, the couple “decided to live apart for some time” because they had “gone through a period where we faced many challenges together.”
At the time, Douglas was recovering from his stage four cancer battle, while Zeta-Jones went to treatment for her bipolar disorder.
Douglas described the separation as “incredibly difficult” for both actors, writing, “We still loved each other very much, but we needed to make sure that being married was the right thing for all of us.”
He added, “Katherine and I have a very deep love for each other. And we love our kids very much. We worked hard to make sure they understood it wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”
Later in his tell-all book, the “Wall Street” star, who shares son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23, with his longtime wife, said he “never gave up hope” that the pair would get back together.
Douglas wrote, “As Katherine and I were seeing each other around the kids – school functions, drop-offs, extracurricular activities – we realized how much we both missed each other.”
“Taking time off helped rekindle the spark that brought us together.”
During an exclusive interview with Page Six last week, Douglas confirmed that Zeta-Jones was in the midst of reading her memoir, which includes details about their past romances and secret affairs.
But the “Wednesday” actress recently admitted on “Today” that she’s too busy finishing Douglas’ book.
She said, “As much as I love my husband, when I’m tired at night I have no intention of reading about him. Absolutely not.”
“But everyone else should [read it],” the “Chicago” star told the audience. “The book is called ‘One Helluva Ride,’ and I think everyone should put on their cowboy hat, because I think it is.”