Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have been married for 20 years. They have a 25-year age gap.
Marriage is hard work and only those that realize this truth end up pushing every obstacle to make it a successful one. Catherine Zeta-Jones and her husband Michael Douglas have been married for 20 years. Though they have been through a lot of challenging times, the couple has managed to build a strong relationship. Recently, the 51-year-old actress spilled the secret to her long-lasting marriage.
Speaking to WSJ. Magazine, the actress stated, "First of all, we have a lot of fun together. My husband is 25 years older than me; that's not a secret. With any relationship, it wouldn't be normal if there weren't any ups and downs." She continued, "The constant is love and respect. We've never, ever lost our sense of humor, and we enjoy each other's company," according to People.
Zeta-Jones further went on to say that their flexible work-life enabled them to spend a lot of time with each other. "My husband and I spend a lot of time together because, unlike so many couples, we've never had a 9-to-5 job where it's consistent. We're either on or we're off. I'm really working 16 hours a day, or I'm not. He's doing the same, or not," said the mother-of-two.
She added, "So we've had in our relationship huge amounts of time where we've been just us. We lived on the island of Bermuda for 12 years bringing up our kids. We respect each other's space, and our humor is just long-lasting."
Zeta-Jones and Douglas tied the knot after meeting each other at a film festival in 1996. Recalling the first time she met the A Perfect Murder actor, Zeta-Jones stated that he "breezed right past her." Later, she was introduced to him by their mutual friends, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. As the evening progressed, Douglas asked the actress if he could sit next to her during dinner.
The actor was smitten and even dropped a cheesy pickup line to hint at his interest in her. According to EOnline, Douglas said, "You know, I'm going to be the father of your children." Though Douglas felt like he blew his chances with the line, their relationship blossomed into something beautiful in the following months.
Despite being criticized for their age gap, the couple decided to take their relationship to the next level. In November of 2000, the couple tied the knot.
Over the years, the couple has gone through their share of ups and downs. In August 2010, Douglas was diagnosed with stage IV tongue cancer, and the couple went through a devastating phase. As the stress of his illness got to her, Zeta-Jones went through a dark mental health phase that was later diagnosed as bipolar disorder. After two hospitalizations, the couple decided to separate after 13 years together. But they had high hopes and complete trust in their bond. So much so, that Douglas didn't even remove his wedding ring during the separation period. After six months apart, the couple got back together and emerged stronger than before. The couple has weathered many a storm together, including the imprisonment of Douglas' oldest son Cameron with his first wife.
"I love Catherine as much, more than I ever have. And hopefully the feeling’s mutual. We worked things out -- if both people want to work something out and make it better, you can do it. You can’t do it if it’s just one person," said Douglas at the time, according to ABC News.
On their 20th wedding anniversary, the couple took to social media to reminisce their romantic tales. While Douglas shared an audio clip of him describing the first time he met his wife, Zeta-Jones wrote, "20 years ago today Michael and I were married!! What an amazing magical night that was! And 7304.85 days and nights on, I love you now as I did then. ( except for the point 85 bit) 😂 Thank you for the love and laughter. ❤️❤️❤️❤️."
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Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photos by (L) Dimitrios Kambouris and (R) Kurt Vinion
