Michael Douglas Confesses He & Kathleen Turner Were Secret Lovers in the Past

Michael Douglas is finally coming clean about his tryst with co-star Kathleen Turner.

Douglas dishes on their relationship in his new memoir “One Helluva Ride,” out October 6.

In an excerpt shared by People magazine, Michael, 82, recalls falling for Kathleen, 72, while filming “Romancing the Stone” in 1983 in Mexico. At the time, Michael was separated from his wife Diandra Douglas, the mother of his son Cameron.

Michael wrote, “Kathleen was smart, funny, and sexy with a deep, sultry voice that became her signature. I instantly liked her, and we were immediately attracted to each other.”

He added, “Things at home were in a bad place. Diandra and I were both having extramarital affairs, including my recent romance with Diane Thomas [‘Romancing the Stone’s’ screenwriter]… I left for Mexico still technically married, but separated.”

Once on set, sparks flew between him and Kathleen.

“The truth is that during the production of ‘Romancing the Stone,’ Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship,” Michael wrote. “It wasn’t a fly-by night affair; it grew naturally from how closely we were working together, how much pressure we were under, how much we respected and cared for one another, and how attracted we were to each other. Like every other guy in the world at the time, I was knocked sideways by Kathleen….”

“Kathleen and I never hit a rough spot. We found each other first as friends, then as co-stars, and finally as lovers. Following an exhausting day of shooting in the jungle, we’d go out and have a meal, or head out with the group and afterward I would sneak into her hotel room after everybody was asleep. There were no cameras in elevators, no assistants using cell phones to take pictures. As Jack and Joan were falling in love, Kathleen and I were keeping the chemistry alive. We kept our involvement hidden. Even [director] Bob [Zemeckis] and [co-star] Danny [DeVito] were unaware.”

Michael recalled, “The magic spell of the set was broken when Diandra brought Cameron down to Mexico. I was so happy to have my son there, but their arrival created another problem. While Bob and Danny had no clue about my affair with Kathleen, Diandra grew suspicious. A woman’s intuition, I suppose. At some point, she was alone with Kathleen and made it clear to her that we were still married. Her view of the terms of our separation was different from mine. This gave Kathleen pause. She didn’t want to interfere.”

He added, “After that visit, Kathleen and I ended things, and I went back to Diandra. I did it for Cameron, but we shouldn’t have gotten back together. After that first split, it was never the same between us ever again.”

While they never admitted to having feelings for each other, Michael said the fans had their suspicions.

“The chemistry I had with Kathleen Turner was so strong, audiences have been certain for years that we were in a relationship together while making the film,” Michael wrote. “We both denied it through ‘Romancing the Stone,’ ‘Jewel of the Nile,’ ‘War of the Roses,’ and even while doing press a few years ago for ‘The Kominsky Method.’”

He said, “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… That was a lie.”

Douglas shared, “It was a lie meant to protect my wife and son, a lie we told the world for 40 years.”

People notes that Michael and Kathleen are still friends to this day, and that he asked her permission to include their relationship in the book.

She reacted to the news going public in a statement to People, saying, “Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago! I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book.”

Michael and Diandra divorced in 1995, leading to a $45-million settlement. He went on to marry Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2000 and have two more children with her.