Michael Douglas reveals secret on-set romance with Jeanne Tripplehorn in new memoir

Michael Douglas has revealed he had a secret on-set romance with his Basic Instinct co-star Jeanne Tripplehorn while filming the 1992 thriller — and not with Sharon Stone, as decades of speculation had suggested.

The 82-year-old actor makes the confession in his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, writing: “The truth is, I fell very hard for Jeanne despite our nearly 20-year age difference.” He adds: “In fact, I was ready to officially leave my wife for Jeanne. I was crazy about her” (https://pagesix.com/2026/10/06/entertainment/michael-douglas-reveals-who-he-had-an-on-set-fling-with-on-basic-instinct/).

Douglas was married to his first wife, Diandra Luker, during the 1992 production, though he says the pair had formally separated and were living separate lives at the time. Tripplehorn, who played police psychologist Beth Garner in the Paul Verhoeven film, was initially unwilling to get involved because of the marriage, Douglas writes (https://star941fm.iheart.com/content/2026-10-06-michael-douglas-admits-to-secret-affair-with-basic-instinct-costar-terrific-woman/).

The romance lasted through production before the pair went their separate ways. “But I will always think of her as an amazing actress and a truly terrific woman that I was very fortunate to spend time with,” Douglas writes. He also says he checked that Tripplehorn, 63 — married to actor Leland Orser for 26 years — was happy for him to reveal the story after all this time (https://bangpremier.com/story/8/3621859/michael-douglas-reveals-secret-romance-with-basic-instinct-co-star).

The memoir also discloses a second on-set affair, with Romancing the Stone co-star Kathleen Turner during the 1984 production. “The truth is that during the production of Romancing the Stone, Kathleen and I fell hard for each other and began a relationship,” he writes, calling it a “fly-by-night affair” the pair had long denied (https://popculture.com/entertainment/news/michael-douglas-discusses-past-secret-affair-with-much-younger-co-star/).

Douglas married Luker in 1977 and they divorced in 1995; he married Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2000 (https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/17725487/michael-douglas-affair-co-star-marriage/).