The Truth About Elizabeth Vargas' Relationship With Michael Douglas

Elizabeth Vargas has long been considered one of the country's top investigative reporters and television journalists. Over her decades-long career, the New Jersey native has worked for NBC and ABC, and most recently, has become the head journalist for A&E. Vargas partnered with A&E in 2018, according to the network's website, and has gone on to be the face of "A&E Investigates." In an interview with TV Insider, Vargas discussed her decision to leave ABC for A&E reporting. She said, "I get to do a lot more of it with A&E. You can uncover things by spending more time on a story that are impossible to get in a one-week turnaround or even a month."

And while her list of accolades — an Emmy award and an ALMA award — is extensive, less is known about Vargas' personal relationships. Some might not even know she was in a relationship with Michael Douglas in the late 1990s. So what do we know about the former couple's romance? 

Elizabeth Vargas' relationship with Michael Douglas reportedly began after the actor's breakup from ex-wife Diandra Douglas in 1995. Vargas seemingly wrote about Douglas in her 2016 memoir, "Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction," but avoided naming him directly. "Nights out with him usually started with a martini at his apartment. I had never had one before," Vargas penned, per the New York Daily News. "We would go out and order a bottle of wine with dinner, and a brandy for dessert." Vargas, who struggled with alcohol addiction, also recalled drinking a "big bottle of vodka" at her boyfriend's "vacation house" in Spain.

Interestingly enough, six years before Vargas' memoir, she reported on Douglas' divorce settlement when sitting in for Robin Roberts on ABC's "Good Morning America." During the 2010 segment, she did not mention that she had previously dated Douglas. ABC said in a statement (via The Wrap) about the controversy: "It was a mistake. It should have been disclosed. Elizabeth did tell her executive producer she had dated Michael, but he made the decision she should host the segment. George [Stephanopoulos] should have done it."

Clearly, Vargas' oopsie didn't tarnish her reputation as a journalist — she has gone to have a storied career since.

Michael Douglas and Elizabeth Vargas have both moved on, with Douglas marrying Zeta-Jones in 2000 and welcoming two kids together. Vargas, meanwhile, is not married, though she was with singer Marc Cohn from 2002 to 2014, and they share two sons together. 

Vargas also has been open about how addition contributed to the dissolution of her marriage, telling ABC News, "It made all the real problems we needed to discuss and work through frivolous in comparison. You know, 'What do you want to talk about? Why don't you ask me about how my day is?' Or 'Why don't you support me more?' when 'why are you drinking two bottles of chardonnay every night?'" She added, "I've just gone and changed the narrative in a pretty dramatic and destructive way."

It's unclear whether Vargas is dating anyone new, but what is obvious? Her whirlwind romance with Douglas is one for the books — literally.