Michael Douglas reveals very rare details of first date with Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1998

Michael Douglas began romancing Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1998 after meeting her at the Deauville Film Festival, and now the actor has revealed exactly how he wooed her for a first date.

Unlike today's world where an actor can slide into the DMs of someone they may take a fancy in, in 1998 Michael's only way of reaching out to Catherine was through his assistant, whom he asked to find out if Catherine would be in town.

© MYCHELE DANIAU

"I had just seen, three weeks before I came to the festival, this movie Zorro . 'Mon Dieu!'," Michael, 79, told the crowds with a laugh as he received a career tribute on the opening night of the French festival's milestone 50th anniversary.

"When I arrived supporting our film – I think it was Perfect Murde r –  I look at the catalogue and I see that Zorro is coming the next night, so I ask my assistant, 'Can you find out if Catherine Zeta-Jones is coming? And is she coming alone and if I could have a drink with her?' The rest is history."

© MYCHELE DANIAU

They fell in love and the Zorro actress and Michael wed in 2000.

They are now parents to two children, 24-year-old son Dylan and 21-year-old daughter Carys.

© Gisela Schober

The children were raised out of the public eye outside of New York City, but now they have both flown the nest, Catherine, 54, recently revealed they had placed their family home on the market.

"When I purchased our Irvington home, I knew our family would share many happy times here, and we have!"  she told the Wall Street Journal, "and now that both our son and daughter have left the nest it seems like the right time to sell."

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The 54-year-old revealed that she and her husband plan to leave New York altogether and spend more time in Europe, something Michael also confirmed when he was honored with the Master of Cinema 2024 accolade, presented to him by Queen Letizia of Spain.

"It is an honor to receive this award in Mallorca, where I have been coming for 35 years and where I enjoy my time like nowhere else," he began, sharing that he may "speak terrible Spanish" but that he "loves this place more and more".

"Now I plan to stay here for six or seven months a year, although that doesn't mean I have retired. What happened is that at the end of 2022 I finished filming the series Franklin and then I didn't work. I continued resting in 2022 and was very happy. But I haven't gone – I have instructed my agent to only call me if a very special role comes up!"