Michael Douglas Regrets Not Divorcing His First Wife Diandra Sooner

'I Wish I'd Divorced My Wife Sooner'

Michael Douglas has revealed his biggest regret - he didn't end his first marriage soon enough.

The actor, 68, who is now married to Catherine Zeta Jones, wed first wife Diandra in 1977 and the couple divorced in 2000.

Michael Douglas

He told the Daily Mirror: "I know I'm going to get into trouble here. I have nothing against her and in fact I'm very fond of my first wife. But we should have ended that marriage eight or 10 years earlier.

"It took me too long to realise that if you go to a marriage counsellor to resolve problems, it's in his interest to keep the marriage going.

Douglas with his first wife

"Because if I end the marriage he's got no business. I think Diandra would probably say the same thing. That's the only clear regret that I have."

Michael, who has battled throat cancer and whose wife Catherine has had treatment in rehab for bipolar disorder, said he had a philosophical outlook.

"I don't think anyone walks around happy all the time unless they're completely medicated. Happiness is cherishing good moments and trying to link together more good moments than bad."

Despite his wealth, he said he wasn't interested in accruing objects and that he gets most of his wardrobe from his film sets.

"What I do is, when I go in for a costume fitting and I see a couple of things they're not going to use, I say, 'I'll take that', 'I'll take that'...", he told the newspaper.

"Catherine isn't happy about it and tries to get things for me from time to time but I'm not a person who wants objects."

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