Some Hollywood romances begin with grand gestures, candlelit dinners, and declarations of love. Others begin with a reality check that leaves absolutely no room for mixed signals. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have been married for nearly 26 years, but their love story had a rather memorable condition attached to it. 

The couple first crossed paths at the Deauville American Film Festival in France in 1998, after Douglas had watched Zeta-Jones in The Mask of Zorro. Sparks flew, and Douglas was confident enough to predict that she would be the one. However, there was one small complication: he was recently divorced and still dating other women.

And before their relationship could turn serious, Zeta-Jones had something to say about that arrangement.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Douglas opened up about the early days of his relationship with Catherine Zeta-Jones. The actor revealed that when he began courting her, she made her expectations unmistakably clear.

“When I courted Catherine, she told me, ‘If we are doing this, you need to clean your act up,’” Douglas recalled.

At the time, Douglas was divorced and seeing five other women in different cities. To pursue a relationship with Zeta-Jones, he had to call each of them and end things. Fortunately, he joked that they all took the news well, as he shared. 

The pair met in 1998, became engaged on New Year's Eve in 1999, and married at New York City's Plaza Hotel in November 2000. They now share two children, Dylan and Carys, and have weathered their share of challenges, including a brief separation in 2013 before reconciling the following year.

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But while the couple may have mastered the art of honesty in their relationship, there is one recent Douglas project that Zeta-Jones has been hilariously reluctant to dive into.

Michael Douglas recently released his memoir, One Helluva Ride, which chronicles his decades-long career and personal life, including relationships from before he married Catherine Zeta-Jones. Naturally, the book has attracted plenty of attention, but his wife is not exactly racing to finish it.

During an appearance on TODAY, Zeta-Jones explained that her packed schedule has left her exhausted. After filming Wednesday Season 3 in Dublin and working on Kill Jackie in London and Spain, she has little energy left for bedtime reading.

“As much as I love my husband, when I'm tired at night, I have no intention of reading about him. at all,” she quipped, while encouraging everyone else to pick up the book.

After all these years, their secret seems simple: clear boundaries, plenty of humor, and knowing when to tell Michael Douglas to clean up his act.

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What do you think about Catherine Zeta-Jones demand before dating Michael Douglas? Let us know in the comments.