Michael Douglas has revealed that he had a secret relationship with Jean Tripplehorn during the filming of “Basic Instinct“ in 1992. The actor described their relationship in his memoir One Helluva Ride, published on October 6, 2026.
In Paul Verhoeven's film, Tripplehorn plays a police psychologist and love interest for Douglas' character. While audiences have for years linked Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone's on-screen chemistry with a possible romantic relationship, the actor has indicated that his closeness was with another cast member.
“The truth is, I fell deeply in love with Jean, despite the almost 20-year age difference,“ the movie star wrote.
At the time of filming, Michael Douglas was 47 years old and Tripplehorn was 28. The actor is still married to his first wife, Diandra Luker, with whom he has a 13-year-old son, Cameron. In his memoirs, he described the marriage as difficult and claimed that the two often separated, lived separate lives, and dated other people.
Douglas wrote that he was “madly in love“ with Jean Tripplehorn and was ready to officially leave Luker. According to his account, the young actress initially did not want to commit to a married man, but he assured her that he and his wife were officially separated.
Ultimately, the actor decided that the worst thing for him would be to go directly from a 15-year marriage to a new relationship. To avoid scandal, the two kept their relationship a secret from their colleagues and the film crew, spending time together in the apartment that Michael Douglas rented.
The actor points out that their closeness off-set made the love scenes on camera unusually difficult. According to him, Tripplehorn laughed nervously during one of the rehearsals before the two filmed a more intense scene.
Douglas notes that at that time, there were still no sex coordinators in the cinema. He writes that every move was rehearsed and coordinated in advance, and after each take he checked to see if Tripplehorn was okay. After one of the takes, she told him that he could bite her harder. The next day, the bruises were covered up by the hair and makeup team.
“My relationship with Jean lasted until the end of production, after which we went our separate ways,“ Douglas wrote. He added that he would always consider her “an incredible actress and a truly wonderful woman“.
The actor also said that he sought Jean Tripplehorn's permission to talk about their relationship in the book, and she agreed. In his memoir, Douglas also admitted to another secret relationship - with Caitlin Turner during the filming of “The Romance of the Green Stone“ in 1984. At the time, he was married to Luker, and Turner was dating her future husband, Jay Weiss.