I Want What They Have: Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas

From the get-go, much of the media attention focused on their 25-year age difference, which both of them have breezed over in interviews, with Zeta-Jones saying she “never even questioned” it. (I, too, will not be entertaining any age-gap discourse here.) The pair married in a lavish ceremony at New York’s Plaza Hotel in 2000, and despite a brief separation in 2013, have remained rock steady ever since. “We worked things out—if both people want to work something out and make it better, you can do it,” Douglas said afterwards, describing the rift as simply “a bump in the road.”

Indeed, one of the joys of following Zeta-Jones and Douglas’s romance is seeing how they have never pretended that long-term love is easy and loyally supported each other through thick and thin, including a series of health battles. In 2010, Douglas was diagnosed with stage IV tongue cancer, undergoing an aggressive program of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. (Contrary to a much-publicized quote at the time, this did not actually result from contracting HPV after performing too much oral sex.) So too has Zeta-Jones been open about her bipolar disorder, stating that “there is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help” when it comes to mental health. Both actors have expressed that these issues made their bond stronger than ever.

“True love takes work,” Douglas once said. “Love is an extraordinary feeling that comes from the bottom of your soul, but has to be nurtured, you know. The thing I’ve learned about getting older is you can’t take love for granted. You protect it, nurture it, and it grows, and after one’s initial, physical, emotional aspects, it becomes deeper.” If those aren’t words of wisdom to live by, then what are? Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas: I really, truly, want what you have. Oh, and I’ll take a post at Casa Zeta-Jones, if there’s one going.