She is basking in some of the best reviews of her career as the feisty family matriarch Morticia Addams in Netflix‘s hit show Wednesday.
And sources close to Catherine Zeta-Jones say the 55-year-old Welsh Oscar-winner is ‘happier than she has ever been’ in her private life too, describing her 25-year marriage to screen icon Michael Douglas as being ‘in a really good place’.
The comments defy recent rumours that their relationship is hitting the rocks. In interviews to promote Wednesday – Netflix’s top show on both sides of the Atlantic – Catherine doubled down, jokingly observing that her marriage has lasted a quarter of a century in an industry not known for marital stability.
She said: ‘It’s a joy, it’s a milestone, especially in this industry. And we haven’t tried to kill each other. I’m sure he’s tried… but he’s never succeeded.’
Catherine is looking so good in her career-reviving role – critics have said she steals the second season of Wednesday from star Jenna Ortega and guests including Lady Gaga – that some have speculated she has gone under the surgeon’s knife, a topic she has yet to address.
One of her long-term friends told The Mail on Sunday this week: ‘I think it’s probably as much of a surprise to Catherine and Michael that they have reached this stage in their lives. The love has always been there.
‘But, like any couple, they’ve had some pretty big ups and downs. There were times when their marriage was hanging by a thread. I don’t know if anyone expected it to survive.
‘Catherine is happier than she’s ever been and is in a really good place both professionally and personally and it’s great to see. It hasn’t always been that way.’
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 55, is basking in some of the best reviews of her career as the feisty family matriarch Morticia Addams in Netflix ‘s hit show Wednesday
And sources close to the Welsh Oscar-winner is ‘happier than she has ever been’ in her private life too, describing her 25-year marriage to screen icon Michael Douglas as being ‘in a really good place’
The comments defy recent rumours that their relationship is hitting the rocks
Indeed, it hasn’t.
Just eight months ago, rumours circulated that the notoriously volatile pair were having marital problems after Douglas, 80, was spotted pointing his finger accusingly at his wife on the red carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during what appeared to be a heated public argument.
As an exasperated Catherine gesticulated back at her husband, Hollywood insiders again raised the question of whether the union was in trouble.
In 30 years of covering Hollywood, the Douglas-Zeta Jones marriage has been one which has appeared on my radar as the source of more gossip and speculation than perhaps any other.
One producer who worked with both actors told me: ‘People were taking bets on when they would break up. They’ve always been incredibly volatile. You’d see them having heated words on the red carpet and at Hollywood events.’
Douglas, who went to rehab for drugs and alcohol addiction during his divorce from first wife Diandra, was one of Hollywood’s most notorious ladies’ men when he fell for Catherine – a sweet shop-owner’s daughter from Mumbles in Swansea.
The pair – who share a September 25 birthday, a quarter of a century apart – met when mutual friend Melanie Griffith (star of Working Girl) introduced them at a party at the Deauville Film Festival in France in August 1998. Wall Street and Fatal Attraction star Douglas – son of Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas, who was then at the peak of his career – whispered: ‘I’m going to be the father of your children.’
Catherine – who had parlayed a break-out role in 1990s ITV series The Darling Buds Of May into a respectable Hollywood career, which included films such as The Mask of Zorro – replied: ‘I’ve heard a lot about you and I think it’s time I said ‘goodnight’.’
She walked out of the party and left France early next morning.
Just eight months ago, rumours circulated that the notoriously volatile pair were having marital problems after Douglas, 80, was spotted pointing his finger accusingly at his wife on the red carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Douglas bombarded her with roses and the pair’s second date in New York ended with a kiss. They wed in November 2000 at the Plaza Hotel in New York with Catherine resplendent in a Christian Lacroix gown. Guests included Jack Nicholson, Sharon Stone and Steven Spielberg.
Their marriage has been marked by passionate highs and lows. Her first gift to him after their marriage was reportedly 1,000 blank love cheques.
Douglas was invited to fill in any sexual demand and she would comply.
She won her Oscar two years later playing Velma Kelly in the big screen version of the musical Chicago. They had two children Dylan, 25, and Carys, 22, but serious cracks began to show around the time Douglas was diagnosed with stage four oral cancer in 2010.
He underwent six months of chemotherapy and radiation but friends who went through the ordeal with them say Catherine struggled to cope.
A long-time confidante said: ‘Catherine has struggled with bipolar disorder and depression and always been open about it.
‘When Michael got sick she was juggling a young family and a career that hadn’t taken off in the way everyone thought it would do after she won the Oscar. It put a huge strain on their marriage.’
In 2011, Catherine announced that she was seeking in-patient treatment for bipolar II disorder – marked by periods of depression followed by manic highs – and checked into £700-a-night Silver Hill psychiatric hospital in Connecticut.
Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams and Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams
Their marriage has been marked by passionate highs and lows. Her first gift to him after their marriage was reportedly 1,000 blank love cheques
The pair publicly split in 2013 and, according to friends, went through intensive therapy both together and individually.
The close friend said: ‘Their marriage was hanging by a thread. They both needed to reassess and to reset.
‘They never stopped loving each other but there were times they didn’t like each other that much. They worked hard to get back on track.’
Catherine went to the couple’s upstate New York home with their children and moved her mother Pat over from Wales to help.
Michael remained at the pair’s £12million New York apartment but he would visit his family every weekend.
The friend said: ‘All couples go through rough times and that was definitely the roughest for them. But they got through it and rebuilt their marriage.’
By 2014 they were back together, rekindling their romance with quiet dinners and holidays away from the spotlight at their sprawling home in the village of Valldemossa in Majorca.
The friend said: ‘Catherine’s career went through a long lean period, which didn’t help matters.
In an interview to promote Wednesday, Catherine admitted that, just like the fictional, quirky Addams family, her family has faced challenges
‘At one point she was selling stuff on [US shopping channel] QVC.
‘She is a great mother and really only started focusing on her career again once the kids were grown up.
‘That’s why this career resurgence is so heartening. She was in the first season of Wednesday but the role of Morticia wasn’t that big.
‘Fans loved her so this time around Netflix put her front and centre and she’s stealing the show.’
For his part, Douglas has pretty much retired after a career that saw him win two Oscars – the Best Picture award for producing for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the Best Actor gong for Wall Street.
He has also had hits such as Basic Instinct, The War of the Roses and, in later years, shows like Netflix’s award-winning drama The Kominsky Method. At the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic last month for a screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (which he produced in 1975), he said: ‘I have not worked since 2022, purposely, because I realised I had to stop.
‘I’ve been working for almost 60 years and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on set.
‘I have no real intention of going back. I say I’m not retired because if something special came up, I’d go back.
Jenna Ortega starring in the title role as Wednesday Adams
‘But otherwise, I’m quite happy to watch my wife work.
‘Catherine is 25 years younger than I am. She’s very busy right now. And I think in the spirit of maintaining a good marriage, I’m happy to play the wife.’
And, according to the close friend, that could be the secret to their new-found happiness.
He said: ‘For years, Catherine was very much the junior partner in the relationship when it came to work.
‘Michael never stopped her working but, of course, as the bigger star, his career came first.’
In an interview to promote Wednesday, Catherine admitted that, just like the fictional, quirky Addams family, her family has faced challenges.
She said: ‘It’s a family who have issues and we all can relate to that. But we embrace our issues. We don’t shun or hide them or try to put them in a box.’
In another interview, she said: ‘I have a husband who listens to me and I’m a wife who listens to him.
Pictured (L-R): Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jenna Ortega and Joanna Lumley attend the Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 Global Premiere at Central Hall, Westminster on July 30, 2025 in London
‘That’s why, though every marriage goes through ups and downs, we’ve come to a place where we couldn’t be better.’
Next month, the couple will fly to Britain where Catherine will begin filming the eight-part Prime Video series Kill Jackie, playing a glamorous jet-setter with a dangerous past. Filming will take place in London, Lisbon and her home city of Swansea.
She has also been cast in the film The Gallerist alongside her Wednesday co-star Jenna Ortega.
Season three of Wednesday begins shooting in November in County Wicklow, Ireland.
The friend said: ‘Catherine is being bombarded with offers
and is determined to make the most of every opportunity that comes her way.
‘The old saying goes ‘happy wife, happy life’ and that seems to be the case with Catherine and Michael these days.’
