The Confession
For decades, a persistent rumor trailed Michael Douglas. Now, in a passage from his forthcoming book, One Helluva Ride, the 82-year-old star has acknowledged that he and Kathleen Turner carried on an affair during the making of Romancing the Stone — a claim the pair had publicly rejected for more than forty years. He described Turner as intelligent, amusing, and alluring, noting her low, husky voice that came to define her, and said he took an instant liking to her, with mutual attraction sparking right away.[S1][S2][S3][S6][S8]
Douglas recounted that at the time he was still wed to Diandra Luker, yet their home life had deteriorated, and each of them was involved with other people. He departed for the 1984 shoot while legally married but living apart. Although moviegoers spent years assuming the two were romantically involved during production, they kept denying it — through the sequel and even much later when they acted together again on The Kominsky Method.[S1]
Publicly, the pair maintained that despite powerful chemistry and mutual temptation, they never gave in to their feelings. According to Douglas, however, the reality was that he and Kathleen developed strong feelings for one another while making Romancing the Stone and started seeing each other. It was no fleeting fling; it emerged organically from their intense collaboration, the stress they faced, their mutual respect and affection, and their physical attraction. He added that, like countless men at the time, Kathleen completely bowled him over.[S1]
Keeping the Secret
Douglas said the romance stayed hidden for four decades to shield Luker and their son, Cameron. Nobody knew, not even director Bob Zemeckis or their co-star Danny DeVito. He recalled that they would dine together once shooting wrapped, or he would slip into her hotel room after everyone had gone to bed. In those days, he noted, elevators had no cameras and no assistants were snapping photos on cell phones. While Jack and Joan fell for each other on screen, Kathleen and he kept their real chemistry burning.[S1]
The relationship ended after Luker brought Cameron to the set and made plain to Turner that she and Douglas were still husband and wife. Once word of Douglas' admission spread, Turner issued a statement to People, exclaiming, Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago! She added that she loves Michael and looks forward to enjoying the book.[S1][S4][S5][S7]
The Film and Aftermath
In Romancing the Stone, Turner plays Joan, a romance writer who heads to Colombia to save her sister from smugglers and encounters Douglas' character, bird hunter Jack Colton, who offers his help. Luker filed for divorce in 1995, and the marriage of 23 years was legally dissolved in 2000. Douglas wrote that following that initial separation, the relationship between them was never the same again. He wed actress Catherine Zeta-Jones in November 2000, and they have two children: son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23.[S1]
