Michael Douglas Lost Millions In His Divorce From Diandra Luker
These days, Michael Douglas is happily married to Catherine Zeta-Jones and they share two kids. But Douglas was married before — and that union ended in one of the most expensive break-ups in Hollywood history.
High-priced divorces are a fairly common occurrence in the entertainment world. As one of the stars with the most divorces in Hollywood, you'd think that Larry King would've known a thing or two about protecting his $144 million assets. But per TMZ, King didn't insist on a prenup before marrying his last wife, Shawn Southwick. Some celebs never recovered from their divorce, like "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammar, who lost over $30 million in his settlement with Camille Grammar, per The Blast.
When Douglas got down on one knee, he would have done well to heed the adage, "marry in haste, repent at leisure." Amo Mama reports that he was 32 and Diandra Luker was 19 when they met, way back in 1977. Douglas fell madly in love and proposed after just two weeks of dating. She said yes, and they got hitched shortly later. The couple's only child, Cameron, arrived the following year, and everything seemed peachy — until everything went rotten.
The divorce ended up being an expensive lesson for Douglas. Very expensive. Michael Douglas lost millions in his divorce from Diandra Luker.
Diandra Luker went all Gordon Gekko on Michael Douglas
When Michael Douglas married Diandra Luker, she was already used to the finer things in life, having grown up as the daughter of a wealthy diplomat. Vanity Fair reports that Douglas was doing alright too. He was a successful TV actor who starred in the long-running cop drama "The Streets of San Francisco." He'd also just won a Best Picture Oscar as a producer on "One Flew Under the Cuckoo's Nest."
Douglas' celebrity currency increased, and his movie career took off. Luker struggled with the Hollywood lifestyle and decamped to Santa Barbara and then Manhattan. They started to grow apart. Douglas began drinking heavily and cashing in on his A-list status. His wife soon grew sick of his partying and womanizing. Douglas checked into rehab in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, but the writing was on the wall. In 1995, Luker filed for divorce. After it was finalized, the outside world got a glimpse at how much Douglas was really worth.
Per Harpers Bazaar, Luker walked away with $45 million in addition to their sprawling Santa Barbara estate — making it one of the most expensive celebrity splits ever. Still, Luker wasn't done yet. Channeling her inner Gordon Gekko, she returned eleven years later, demanding 50% of Douglas' payment for the 2010 sequel to "Wall Street." "I am not a greedy person by nature," Luker told Harpers. "I ask myself every night if I should walk away."
Michael Douglas was once bitten but not twice shy
According to World Population Review, 35%-50% of US first marriages end in divorce, with the stats increasing in line with a person's marriage count. It's a wonder anybody still bothers, especially after they're already one wedding down. Michael Douglas wasn't deterred, though, despite his divorce settlement knockback. In fact, Douglas developed a major crush on a Welsh newcomer after seeing her star in "The Mask of Zorro."
So when the Oscar-winner spotted Catherine Zeta-Jones spot her at the Deauville film festival in 1998, he didn't play it cool. Per Vanity Fair, Douglas fell for Zeta-Jones right away, but she took her time falling for Douglas. They married in 2000 and have gone on to have two children of their own.
The couple appeared blissfully happy until Douglas gave a monumental mistake of an interview with The Guardian, in which he infamously speculated about the possible origin of the throat cancer he had previously battled. She was so not-impressed that they actually split up for a time. However, perhaps motivated by the fear of losing yet another fortune, Douglas pulled out all the stops and wooed his wife back.