Catherine Zeta-Jones is the epitome of glamour. With her exotic Welsh features, yummy-mummy figure and flawless sense of style, it’s no wonder one of Hollywood’s most admired men, Michael Douglas, fell head over heels for her. Now balancing career with motherhood, the 37-year-old mum of son Dylan, 7, and daughter Carys, 4, revelled in the chance to get her hands dirty as an uptight chef in the romantic comedy No Reservations. While her marriage came under scrutiny following on-set rumours sparks were flying between Catherine and her hunky co-star Aaron Eckhart, the actress says her and Michael couldn’t be happier.
What’s your recipe for a successful relationship?
I think just to be kind to each other. We meet so many different people in life and sometimes we spend more time being nice and friendly to complete strangers than we do to the person you love more than anything else in the world. So just to have that in the back of your mind — to be respectful, kind and nice.
How do you, in the daily grind of things, keep such a positive outlook on marriage?
Take one day at a time! In our business, we meet a lot of people. And so, it’s just keeping a clear head, and being nice to each other.
How do you balance your work and family life?
You have to be so organised. And for me, scheduling is finding out when I can have those precious few days to go back to LA and just be a mum. You know, to do nothing else and not think about anything else. The kids get fed at a certain time, they watch their 20 minutes of cartoons and if I’m anywhere in the world, I can go, ‘What time is it? Oh, it’s 6.30, they’re watching their cartoons, they’re going to be eating at 7 and going to bed at 7.30’, so I’m really strict on that.
What kind of father is Michael?
Michael is wonderful. He really enjoys family life the second time around. And he now has time to enjoy those moments he missed before when he was doing Fatal Attraction or Wall Street, or whatever it was…
For the full interview — and to find out how the 25 year age gap affects Catherine and Michael’s marriage — see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale August 13).
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