For years, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner insisted their chemistry in Romancing the Stone never led to a real romance. Douglas is now admitting they had a relationship during filming — and deliberately kept it secret for four decades.
In his memoir, One Helluva Ride, released October 6, Douglas reveals affairs with Turner and Basic Instinct actress Jeanne Tripplehorn. He also recalls an argument with Julia Roberts that left him apologizing and, ultimately, cost him their friendship.
Douglas writes that he was having problems in his marriage to his first wife, Diandra, before leaving for Mexico to film Romancing the Stone. According to his account, both were having extramarital affairs, and he had recently been involved with the movie’s screenwriter, Diane Thomas. He initially wanted Debra Winger for the lead role, but after that didn’t work out, he met Turner for lunch, he liked her immediately, and the attraction was mutual.
Douglas says he was still legally married but separated when he arrived in Mexico. Working closely with Turner, spending long days on location and getting to know her led to a relationship that continued away from the cameras.
In an excerpt published by PEOPLE, he recalls going out for dinner with Turner or joining the rest of the cast and crew for the evening, then slipping into her hotel room after everyone had gone to sleep. He says neither director Robert Zemeckis nor costar Danny DeVito knew what was happening.
Audiences suspected there was more to their relationship, but Douglas and Turner denied it while promoting Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile and The War of the Roses. They were still denying it several years later when they reunited for The Kominsky Method.
“That was a lie,” Douglas writes. “It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years.”
Their relationship ended after Diandra brought their young son, Cameron, to Mexico. Douglas says Diandra became suspicious and spoke privately with Turner, reminding her that the two were still married. He admits Diandra understood the terms of their separation differently than he did.
Turner didn’t want to interfere in the marriage. Douglas says they broke things off, and he returned to Diandra because he didn’t want Cameron to experience the hurt he remembered from his own parents’ divorce. Looking back, he believes the reconciliation was a mistake. Douglas and Turner eventually worked together again and remained friends. He asked for her permission before including their relationship in the memoir.
Turner appeared unfazed by the attention. “Good heavens, what a fuss about something 40 years ago!” she told PEOPLE. “I love Michael, and I look forward to enjoying the book.”
Douglas also reveals that he became involved with Jeanne Tripplehorn while filming Basic Instinct in San Francisco. At the time, speculation centered on whether he was having a romance with Sharon Stone.
“They were so focused on a possible relationship between Sharon and me, they missed the real relationship happening between me and Jeanne,” he writes.
Tripplehorn, who played his character’s former girlfriend and psychologist, was initially unwilling to date someone who was married. Douglas says he assured her that he and Diandra had formally separated and were living separate lives.
He writes that he fell deeply for Tripplehorn despite their nearly 20-year age difference. They spent hours together away from the set and made an effort to keep their involvement from the cast and crew.
The relationship lasted through production. Douglas says he cared about her but realized he wasn’t ready to go from a troubled marriage into another serious relationship, so they went their separate ways after filming. Although they haven’t stayed closely in touch, Douglas told PEOPLE he called Tripplehorn before writing about the affair and asked whether she was comfortable with him including it. She gave him permission.
Another passage deals with a night Douglas says he regretted for years. While producing Flatliners, he attended a Golden Globes party with his teenage son, Cameron. Julia Roberts, who starred in the movie alongside her then-partner, Kiefer Sutherland, was also there. Douglas recalls seeing Roberts with her arm around Cameron at the bar. He thought his son looked stunned, although he acknowledged he was drunk and may have misread the situation.
He shouted at Roberts: “Take your hands off my son and take that Golden Globe and stick it where the sun don’t shine.”
The next morning, his producing partner, Rick Bieber, called to discuss what had happened. Douglas realized he had insulted the star of a movie they still had to finish.
He sent Roberts roses and a note, then apologized in person to both her and Sutherland. The apologies helped them get through production, but his relationship with Roberts never fully recovered.
“I remained friends with Kiefer. Julia, not so much,” he writes. ~ Chidera Arimah