Despite her onscreen success over the decades, Catherine Zeta Jones' personal life has courted
press attention for all the wrong reasons. Here are some of the tragic
details about her life and career. Zeta-Jones' love life first became a source
of fascination for the British press in 1991, when she began dating John Leslie, a presenter on
The BBC's long-running children's magazine show, Blue Peter. Unfortunately, their
love story didn't get a happy ending. After 18 months together, the golden couple split amidst reports that Leslie was afraid of
commitment. In 2000, the TV host was asked by Hello! Magazine whether he believed he'd
been the heartbreaker as reported. He replied, "You'd have to ask her if I broke her heart,
but I always draw a line at talking about things like that. When two people are personally
involved I think it should never be discussed. I truly believe that trust
between two people is sacred." Neither Leslie or Zeta-Jones have ever discussed
what caused their split. But in 2003, Leslie once again opened up about how much the Chicago
star meant to him, telling the Daily Express, "It was the real thing alright. I was in love
with her and she was in love with me, no question. She was lovely, we were together for 18
months, but in the end it didn't work out." Leslie also described Zeta-Jones as his
"one true love," but denied allegations that they'd gone their separate ways
over the issue of marriage and children. After parting with John Leslie, Zeta-Jones
entered into a relationship with another Scotsman, Braveheart star Angus Macfadyen, in 1995. And once again, her love life became a constant
source of fascination for the tabloids. You could argue that the actress didn't make
things easy for herself. Shortly before she confirmed her engagement, Zeta-Jones was pictured
kissing her married Catherine the Great co-star, Paul McGann. According to The Guardian, the
pair would later claim that the smooch was nothing but an innocent greeting between
two friends. But Macfadyen was reportedly left "humiliated" by the press attention,
according to The Daily Mail. Zeta-Jones then appeared to jinx things in an interview in
which she gushed about her then-fiancé, saying, "I'm so happy with Angus. I think this
time I've found the love of my life." Sadly, the couple never made
it down the aisle. In 1996, after just 15 months together, Macfadyen decided
to call things off. But just like Leslie, it was a decision he seemed to later regret, telling
the World Entertainment News Network in 2000, "I haven't met a woman I really
liked since being with Catherine. There hasn't been anyone with the same good
sense of humor I could have fallen in love with. I find now that I can only feel romantically
attached for about a month and can't take anything seriously any more. But when I was with
Catherine I loved doing romantic things for her." The tabloid media's apparent obsession
with Zeta-Jones' private life reached new heights — or lows — in November 2000.
And her glitzy wedding to Michael Douglas at New York's Plaza Hotel was the scene
of the crime, according to BBC News. "We had found out we had a birthday on
the same day and the first day I met her, I found that out and I looked at her and I said
'I'm going to be the father of your children.'" The two A-listers had struck an exclusive
million-pound deal with British magazine OK! to cover their wedding, according to
The New York Times. So the pair was left, quote, "devastated, shocked and
appalled," Zeta-Jones later said, after seeing unauthorized snaps of the reception
in the rival publication Hello!. Had one of their nearest and dearest betrayed their trust and
cashed in on the occasion with a few sneaky pics? As it turns out, a paparazzi photographer
had somehow wormed their way into the event. The newlyweds subsequently filed
a lawsuit for invasion of privacy, loss of income, stress, and damage to their
professional careers — all because of the, quote, "sleazy and unflattering" nature of the photos,
the actress said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After a six-week battle at London's High
Court, which cost them approximately $5 million, they emerged victorious. In an
official statement, the couple said, "We deeply appreciate that the court
has recognized the principle that every individual has the right
to be protected from excessive and unwanted media intrusion
into their private lives." You'd probably expect the
following grisly statement to come from from a Hollywood horror movie: "We are going to slice her up like meat
on a bone and feed her to the dogs." But for Zeta-Jones, it was a real-life
threat against her life sent by a woman obsessively jealous of her marriage to
Michael Douglas, according to CBS News. In 2005, Dawnette Knight was given a
three-year state prison sentence after, quote, "plead[ing] no contest to stalking
and threatening" the Welsh actress via several letters to some of her
closest acquaintances. During her trial, the then-35-year-old had expressed remorse
for her conduct, telling the court, "I hope one day the victim will forgive me.
I am sorry. I think about it all the time." Understandably, Zeta-Jones wasn't
interested in any apologies. In a letter read out by the prosecution in her
absence, the Oscar winner told Knight, "You have profoundly affected me in how I
conduct my life. [...] Your actions will be with me the rest of my life — how I will
be constantly observing, looking over my shoulder. You will never be famous, you will
never be infamous, you are just a criminal." Having already served 600 days in jail, Knight
was released less than a year after the verdict. Zeta-Jones was forced to deal with further
unwanted press attention in the mid-'00s, when she was accused of being anorexic.
Rumors emerged that the actress was battling an eating disorder after she was pictured
looking significantly slimmer than in her early Hollywood career. However, the
actress soon put the record straight. In a 2007 interview with People magazine, Zeta-Jones revealed how she first
learned of the allegations, saying, "Michael was laughing at me. He told me
what [people had] said — that stories say I'm anorexic. Do I look anorexic?
How could I ever, ever be anorexic?" The Welshwoman insisted that her
change in appearance was simply due to her healthier lifestyle choices, adding, "I'm just working out and not chomping
down what I usually chomp down." Zeta-Jones, however, does have experience of
helping others with the problem — something she drew upon while starring as a bulimic beauty
pageant coach in Queen America. When asked about playing a character with an eating disorder
by Forbes in 2018, the Oscar winner replied, "Oh my God, it was really hard for me because
I've been around it for so many years, you know? I was in 42nd Street: I
was 17-years-old, I was a dancer; and so I'd been brought up with the image of a
woman looking at herself in the mirror. I have seen it. I have been there. And I have helped
other people go through a very serious issue." In 2010, Douglas received the devastating news
that he had stage-four tongue cancer, according to CNN. The Hollywood veteran had to cancel
several promotional appearances for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and postpone the filming of
Behind the Candelabra as a result. Thankfully, after an intense course of chemotherapy and
radiation, the actor got the all-clear within the space of 12 months, as he revealed on
the red carpet of the 2011 Golden Globes. Talking to Stella magazine in 2013, Zeta-Jones discussed how her husband
dealt with the disease, saying, "He's a very matter-of-fact person. Once he was
diagnosed he was like, 'Okay, what do I do?' He basically wanted that thing out of
his body so he just blitzed the [sucker]. It was very intensive [...] but he
still retained his sense of humor." Although Douglas had decided to tell
the world that he'd been diagnosed with throat cancer instead of tongue
cancer, on the advice of his surgeon, his wife revealed that he'd hid nothing
from his family. Zeta-Jones explained, "He was very open with the children. No secrets
— they went and saw him having treatment. Together we all coped with everything. It did make
us closer. But I wouldn't wish it on anybody." Shortly after husband recovered from his
battle with cancer, Zeta-Jones also found herself in need of treatment. In 2011, the
actress checked herself into rehab for a long-running mental health issue — and her
bipolar diagnosis became public knowledge. "I never wanted to be the poster child for this. I never wanted this to come
out publicly. It came out." According to The New York Post, Zeta-Jones'
publicist declared that she had decided to seek help following a particularly stressful
year. Once she checked out of the facility, the Oscar winner opened up further
to People Magazine, saying, "This is a disorder that
affects millions of people, and I am one of them. If my revelation of having
bipolar 2 has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it. There is no need to suffer
silently and there is no shame in seeking help." According to Reuters, Zeta-Jones also
returned to a mental health facility in 2013 to, quote, "manage her
health in an optimum manner," her rep disclosed. Later that same year, the
mother-of-two explained to Stella magazine how her first stint had been triggered by
her husband's health scare. She admitted, "When Michael was diagnosed with cancer I really
thought, 'You are going to have to wipe me off the floor.' [...] When you get sideswiped like
that, it's an obvious trigger for your balance to be a little bit off — not sleeping,
worry, stress. It's a classic trigger." In January 2018, Douglas became the latest
high-profile celebrity to find himself embroiled in the Me Too movement. Pre-empting
an article in The Hollywood Reporter, in which his former employee, Susan Braudy,
made claims of inappropriate sexual conduct, the actor gave an interview with
Deadline to strongly deny any wrongdoing. Zeta-Jones revealed to The Times later that
same year that she was left both conflicted and, quote, "profoundly devastated" by the
accusations leveled against her husband, admitting that "it put her in a really nasty
position." With their two children by her side, the Welshwoman subsequently asked Douglas
outright whether Braudy's claims were true. He insisted that there was, quote, "no
story here, and that time will tell." "He was articulate, he said it from
the heart, he was honest, open, and transparent. He now
has to take the next step." With no other allegations emerging since, Zeta-Jones seemed convinced of Douglas'
honesty by that November. She told The Times, "There was nothing to back it up
at all. For any accusation that comes out that isn't backed up, that
knocks the movement back 20 years." Around that same time, the actress
revealed to Today that she was proud of the way her family handled
the speculation. She explained, "I'm a big European kind of family girl, and so
everything is shared around the table. [...] I think you clear the air and everyone knows
what's going on, there's no big surprises." Zeta-Jones suffered the loss of two family members
within the space of a few weeks in early 2020. First, her father-in-law, actor Kirk
Douglas, passed away at the grand old age of 103 at his Beverly Hills home,
according to People Magazine. Zeta-Jones later paid tribute to the Hollywood icon
on Instagram, writing in her caption, "To my darling Kirk, I shall love you for the rest
of my life. I miss you already. Sleep tight..." Zeta-Jones had always enjoyed a close
relationship with one of the longest-surviving stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. The pair
was often pictured smiling while enjoying each other's company, and the Welshwoman
referred to him affectionately as "Pappy." Sadly, the actress had to deal with
another loss in her family shortly after. This time, it was her cousin, Seward Johnson Jr.,
who'd lost his life at the age of 89 following a battle with cancer, according to The New York
Times. Zeta-Jones took to Facebook to pay her respects to the esteemed sculptor, posting images
of his two most famous works with the message, "RIP our cousin Seward Johnson Jr., sculptor
and great human being. Like his iconic sculpture 'Double Check' that survived 9/11, [his]
work, love and inspiration will live on." Check out one of our newest
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