Michael Douglas reveals 40-year secret affair with Kathleen Turner in memoir

Michael Douglas has admitted a secret affair with Kathleen Turner during the making of 1984 adventure romance Romancing the Stone, after the pair denied it in public for 40 years.

The admission comes in his memoir One Helluva Ride, which details secret affairs with co-stars, drug binges and backstage encounters at awards shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Douglas writes that he and Turner slipped into each other's hotel rooms during the shoot without director Robert Zemeckis or co-star Danny DeVito knowing. The two then lied about the romance in press interviews for four decades to protect Douglas's wife and son.

At the time Douglas describes himself as still technically married to Diandra Lurker but separated from her. He writes that the affair ended after Lurker confronted Turner on the set. He says he asked Turner for permission before publishing the account.

The book contains more set disclosures. Douglas writes that he had a brief romance with Romancing the Stone screenwriter Diane Thomas. On erotic thriller Basic Instinct, he says his affair was with co-star Jeanne Tripplehorn, not Sharon Stone, and that the relationship lasted through production before they went their separate ways.

One Helluva Ride goes on sale on 6 October 2026 from Grand Central Publishing. Publisher Hachette Book Group lists it at 496 pages and describes it as packed with behind-the-scenes stories featuring a Who's Who of Hollywood, many never told before and some outrageously funny.

Douglas was 82 at publication, according to The New York Times. The cover was first revealed exclusively by PEOPLE in July.

What makes this stand out is the length of the cover-up. Junket denials are routine in Hollywood. Sustaining one across reunions, retrospectives and anniversary interviews for 40 years is rare, and Douglas frames the reveal as clearing the record with Turner's blessing.