There’s a thin line between a pick-up line that is confident and one that is cocky. But we’ll let you decide what you thought of the one actor Michael Douglas used when he met his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones for the first time. At least, it left CBS host Mo Rocca quite shocked!
In a recent episode of CBS Sunday Morning, host Mo Rocca sat down with the Wall Street actor to talk about his latest project, the Apple TV+ miniseries Franklin, in which he portrays Benjamin Franklin. While trying to draw certain parallels between his reel and real selves, the host brought up the first date between Douglas and Zeta-Jones where the former told her something that might’ve totally ruined his chances. But turns out, it worked like a charm.
“I blurted out, ‘I’m going to be the father of your children’,” revealed Douglas, surprising Rocca and possibly many viewers with his candor. When asked about whether he was indeed ready to have children into his 50s, Douglas enthusiastically replied, “With Catherine Zeta-Jones? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think we could do that!”
Douglas met Zeta-Jones, 25 years his junior, in 1998. The two began dating in 1999 and were married in 2000. Their relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs, including a brief separation in 2013 that was confirmed by Zeta-Jones’ representative. However, they got back and have been together since. The couple have two children—a son, Dylan Michael (24), born before their marriage, and a daughter, Carys Zeta (21). And here’s an interesting piece of trivia: the couple share the same birthday, too – September 25.
When asked about what it was like to raise children in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, Douglas thanked his wife of 25 years and his two children with her for having a lovely life together.
“Dylan is completely out of school now, and Carys has got one more year of college. And they’ve brought both Catherine and I a tremendous amount of joy, and we have a lot of – I think the Yiddish word is ’nakhes’ (to derive pride or satisfaction from someone’s achievements) – from them.”
Douglas further mentioned that even though he has now reached an age where he cannot join his kids in activities like skiing, it feels good to have someone look after you and ask, “You okay, Dad?”
In an earlier interview, Douglas had opened up about being mistaken as his children’s grandfather when he went to their college. But he is indeed a grandfather to two grandkids, through his eldest son, Cameron (46), from his previous marriage to Diandra Luker.
Cameron, also an actor, struggled with drug addiction since he was a teenager, eventually leading to a seven-year incarceration in federal prison. After being released in 2016, he even wrote about it in a memoir titled Long Way Home. Cameron and his longtime partner Viviane Thebes have two children together – a daughter (2017) and a son (2022).
Published: Dec 27, 2024 10:25 am