Michael Douglas has battled throat cancer, alcoholism and a number of family hardships, but the Oscar-winning actor says his only regret came in marriage.
The “Behind the Candelabra” actor admitted that he regrets staying married to his first wife, Diandra Luker, for almost a decade longer than he apparently wanted to.
“I know I’m going to get into trouble here,” Douglas, 68, said in an interview with British tabloid The Mirror.
“I have nothing against her and in fact I’m very fond of my first wife. But we should have ended that marriage eight or 10 years earlier.”
Douglas and Luker married in 1977, but their union ended in separation by 1995, and then a costly divorce in 2000. They have one son together, actor Cameron Douglas, 34, who is currently serving a lengthy jail sentence for drug possession.
“It took me too long to realize that if you go to a marriage counselor to resolve problems, it’s in his interest to keep the marriage going,” Douglas said.
“Because if I end the marriage he’s got no business… I think Diandra would probably say the same thing. That’s the only clear regret that I have.”
The “Wall Street” actor married his current wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones later in 2000, reportedly opting for a pre-nuptial agreement the second time around after shelling out $45 million in a divorce settlement to Luker.
Douglas has two teenage children with the “Chicago” actress. The couple reportedly renewed their vows in 2010, after Douglas battled stage-four throat cancer.
“I love kids and I love having had this second chance to have a family,” Douglas told the Mirror.
“It was all a gamble … but it’s paid off all right.”
