How Michael Douglas Began a Secret Affair on the Set of “Basic Instinct” — But Not with Sharon Stone (Exclusive)
How Michael Douglas Began a Secret Affair on the Set of “Basic Instinct” — But Not with Sharon Stone (Exclusive)
Jack Smart, Eric AnderssonTue, October 6, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC
0
Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in 1992Credit: Eric Robert/Sygma/Sygma via GettyDouglas reveals in his memoir that while filming the 1992 thriller, he and a costar “took great pains to hide” an offscreen relationship -
Michael Douglas has written a new tell-all memoir, One Helluva Ride
He reveals that while filming the 1992 thriller Basic Instinct with Sharon Stone and Jeanne Tripplehorn, he and Tripplehorn had a secret relationship
Douglas contacted Tripplehorn to ask for her permission to detail the affair, he tells PEOPLE
Michael Douglas had a secret romance on the set of Basic Instinct — but not with whom you might expect.
In his new memoir One Helluva Ride (on bookshelves now), the Oscar winner, 82, details his romance with Jeanne Tripplehorn while they filmed the hit 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct. Douglas, married to but separated from Diandra Luker at the time, recalls that many assumed a romance was going on between him and costar Sharon Stone during the making of the hit film.
Jeanne Tripplehorn and Michael Douglas in ‘Basic Instinct’Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
“They were so focused on a possible relationship between Sharon and me, they missed the real relationship happening between me and Jeanne,” writes Douglas in the book, explaining how the two actors “took great pains to hide [the relationship] from the cast and crew.”
While filming in San Francisco, the actor continues, he and Tripplehorn, 63, “spent so many hours together, talking, really getting to know each other, enjoying each other’s company away from the set and everything else in the world.”
— sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
(Left-right:) Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas and Jeanne Tripplehorn in 1992Credit: Pool ARNAL/GARCIA/PICOT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty
Basic Instinct starred Douglas as detective Nick Curran, untangling a murder case at which Stone’s elusive Catherine Tramell is at the center. Tripplehorn played police psychologist Dr. Beth Garner, the on-again-off-again romantic interest of Douglas’s character.
“Jeanne was a special lady,” Douglas tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I know people with Basic Instinct were always kind of consumed with Sharon Stone and what might be going on.”
In the years after Basic Instinct, Douglas hasn’t had “much connection with Jeanne,” he says, but upon writing the memoir, he contacted Tripplehorn about including details about their former relationship. The actress has been married to actor Leland Orser since 2000; the two share an adult son.
“It’s been a long time, but I called her up and asked for her permission,” says Douglas. “That’s her business,” he adds. “She said yes.”
Advertisement
‘One Helluva Ride’Credit: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group
In One Helluva Ride, Douglas recalls that Tripplehorn “was unwilling to get involved” with someone still married, “but I assured her that Diandra and I had formally separated… we were both seeing other people on the side, living separate lives, and we knew the marriage was over.”
In fact, the Wall Street star “fell very hard for Jeanne despite our nearly twenty-year age difference,” he writes. “With Jeanne, the passion you see onscreen reflects the genuine passion of our brief affair.”
Douglas continues, “I was crazy about her. But I was also just self-aware enough to know that the worst thing I could do at that moment after nearly twenty years of marriage was jump right into another serious relationship. My relationship with Jeanne lasted through production, then we went our separate ways. But I will always think of her as an amazing actress and a truly terrific woman that I was very fortunate to spend time with.”
One Helluva Ride includes other candid stories about Douglas’ screen work, activism and love life, including his 25-year marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones. He and Romancing the Stone costar Kathleen Turner, he reveals, fell for each other and were secret lovers while making the 1984 blockbuster in Mexico.
“Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago!” Turner, 72, told PEOPLE in a statement responding to the reveal. “I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book.”
Of including details about his past affairs in the memoir, Douglas tells PEOPLE, “I didn’t name anybody for the sake of notches on your holster or something like that. These are people that I’ve had relationships with in my life.”
One Helluva Rideby Michael Douglas is available now, wherever books are sold.
To watch the full interview, visit the PEOPLE App. For more from Michael Douglas, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on newsstands everywhere Friday.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
