Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas got married in 2000. Even before their wedding, everyone assumed the romance wouldn’t last. Why do so many divorce rumors stalk these two? There’s one simple reason inquiring minds expect a split.
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From Different Eras
Time and time again, tabloids arrive at the exact same source of frustration for Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas: their age difference. The Ocean’s Twelve star was born in 1969, while Douglas was born in 1944. Both were born on September 25 coincidentally, just a quarter century apart. He’s effectively old enough to be her father.
How Does Catherine Zeta-Jones Feel?
In 2001, not even a year into the relationship, Zeta-Jones visited Larry King Live to promote America’s Sweethearts. Larry King asked her about the early days of their relationship, and how she felt about the age difference. King’s wife, Shawn Southwick, was 26 years younger than him. He said “it works, though right?” and Zeta-Jones happily responded, “so you’re one of the rare people in this world.”
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Here’s how Zeta-Jones justified the age difference in 2001: “Well, I think, historically, older men and younger women have been together. But all of a sudden, you come to a generation where it becomes, like, I don’t know, another agenda going on. And when my mother was telling me about men and telling me the facts of life, she never actually put an age bracket on it. And it’s so funny because Michael and my parents are the same age. So they—my parents, when they see us together, never even question that there was a 25-year age difference.”
The age difference never bothered Zeta-Jones or anyone in their families, yet it’s still heralded as the main reason for a potential split. Just last month The Globe claimed Douglas couldn’t keep up with Zeta-Jones because of their age difference. In 2019, NW believed the age gap would split Douglas and Zeta-Jones, yet they’re still together.
Not The Only Ones
There’s another couple who see a disproportionate amount of divorce rumors caused by an age gap: Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. The two have been together about as long as Zeta-Jones and Douglas, and are 23 years apart. Tabloids constantly spew stories about Flockhart fearing for Ford’s life because of his age, or simply the age gap causing a Ford divorce.
Despite all these rumors, Ford and Flockhart are still happily married. Zeta-Jones and Douglas are too. An age difference really feels like something that bothers other people more than the folks in the relationship itself. Everybody’s different, and these couples clearly don’t see the gap as a reason to break up.