Catherine Zeta-Jones Opens Up About the Secret to Her 18 Year Marriage to Michael Douglas

Catherine Zeta-Jones is revealing the secret to her long-lasting marriage to Michael Douglas

Catherine Zeta-Jones has revealed the secret to her long-lasting marriage to Michael Douglas.

Speaking to Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie on Tuesday morning’s Today, The Queen America actress, 49, said her nearly 20-year marriage to Douglas, 74, had lasted as long as it has simply due to their honesty with each other.

“Both Michael and I have a very open relationship,” she said. “When you have kids that didn’t ask to be born into a world where [the marriage is] scrutinized or looked into,” she continued. “You’ve got to be open and honest and share things that probably people at the drug store wouldn’t share over the counter.”

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Still, the Welsh actress says it hasn’t always been roses and chocolate boxes.

“First of all, I’m so happy that we’ve made it to be 20 years together. It’s been great,” she said. “But I think it’s just unfathomable to me that you would be with one person for 18 years and things are not rosy every day. You know? They’re just not.”

Zeta-Jones, who recently opened up about allegations of sexual misconduct against her husband, also said the two “share everything around the table” with their two children.

“I’m a big European kind of family girl, and so everything is shared around the table,” she shared. “Issues with my daughter if she’s feeling insecure — she’s a teenager and girls can be mean. My son’s going off to college. And then you just clear the air. Everyone knows what’s going on. There are no surprises.”

Zeta-Jones also noted that her parents provided her with a great example of a strong relationship.

“My mother and father are married for 52 years and they’re a wonderful blueprint for me because I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly with them, and they’re still going strong,” she said.

The couple, who have been married since 2000, have son Dylan, 18 and daughter Carys, 15. They celebrated 18 years of marriage earlier this month in which the actress shared a black and white photo of the two, writing in the caption, “18 years.💕.”