Michael Douglas admits secret romance with Kathleen Turner on Romancing the Stone; Turner responds: “Good heavens”

Michael Douglas has confirmed what audiences suspected for four decades: he and Kathleen Turner were in a relationship while filming Romancing the Stone. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the admission appears in an excerpt from Douglas’s new memoir, One Helluva Ride, which the actor shared exclusively with People on Thursday. Turner responded on Friday with a statement to the same magazine: “Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago! I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book.”

Key facts

Detail	What the excerpt says, per THR
Book	One Helluva Ride, Michael Douglas’s memoir
The claim	Douglas and Turner “fell hard for each other” during Romancing the Stone (1984)
How long it was denied	40 years, through four joint projects and press tours
Who did not know	Director Bob Zemeckis and co-star Danny DeVito
How it ended	After a set visit by Diandra Douglas, who made clear the marriage was ongoing
Turner’s response	“Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago!”

“That was a lie”

According to THR, Douglas writes that he and his then-wife, Diandra Douglas, were separated at the time and “were both having extramarital affairs”. He describes the official account the two stars gave for years, that they had amazing chemistry, were “terrible flirts” and were tempted but that nothing happened, and then dismisses it in three words: “That was a lie.”

“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,” he writes in the excerpt quoted by THR. “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.”

How Douglas describes the relationship

The two-time Oscar winner is careful to frame the romance as more than a fling. “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,” he writes, per THR. “Like every other guy in the world at the time, I was knocked sideways by Kathleen.”

THR reported that the pair kept the relationship so quiet that director Bob Zemeckis and co-star Danny DeVito were unaware. Douglas says the lie was maintained for 40 years “to protect my wife and son”.

Why it ended

The excerpt also explains the break. During a visit to the set, Douglas writes, Diandra “grew suspicious” and spoke with Turner, making “clear to her that we were still married”. He adds: “Her view of the terms of our separation was different from mine. This gave Kathleen pause. She didn’t want to interfere. After that visit, Kathleen and I ended things, and I went back to Diandra.”

Why the story resonates

Douglas and Turner made three films together in the 1980s, Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile and The War of the Roses, and reunited on Netflix’s The Kominsky Method, which is why, as THR noted, the question followed them onto press tours decades later. The denial was itself part of the pair’s public double act, which makes the memoir’s reversal unusually direct for a Hollywood autobiography.

Turner’s brisk reply suggests the revelation has not strained the friendship. Beyond her statement to People, no further comment from either actor has been reported, and the full memoir has yet to be published; the excerpt is the only portion in circulation so far.

Frequently asked questions

What does Michael Douglas say about Kathleen Turner in his memoir?

In an excerpt from One Helluva Ride shared with People and reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Douglas writes that he and Turner “fell hard for each other and began a relationship” while filming Romancing the Stone, and that their decades of denials were a lie.

How did Kathleen Turner respond?

In a statement to People on Friday, quoted by THR, Turner said: “Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago! I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book.”

Why did Douglas and Turner end the relationship?

Douglas writes that his then-wife Diandra visited the set, grew suspicious and told Turner the couple were still married, after which Turner did not want to interfere and the relationship ended, according to THR.