The early 2010s were difficult for both Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In August 2010, Douglas shared he had been diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer (which in 2013 he revealed was actually tongue cancer), for which he had to undergo chemotherapy. Zeta-Jones took the news hard, experiencing sleepless nights and nonstop worrying. “I really thought, ‘You are going to have to wipe me off the floor,'” she told The Telegraph in 2013. The stress affected Zeta-Jones’ mental health.
In April 2011, just months into Douglas’ treatment, she checked herself into a facility to treat her bipolar disorder, marking the first time she publicly disclosed her diagnosis. “[Bipolar] is something I have been dealing with for a long time,” she told The Telegraph. “When you get sideswiped like that [with Douglas’s illness] it’s an obvious trigger.” Zeta-Jones sought treatment again in May 2013, around the time she and Douglas stopped being seen together.
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The aggravation of Zeta-Jones’ condition amid Douglas’ recovery was hard on their relationship, a source told People. But their health issues may also have caused a different kind of strain on the marriage. Two months before announcing their separation, Douglas infamously told The Guardian his cancer had been caused by HPV transmitted via oral sex. Zeta-Jones has consistently refused to comment on it. In 2015, Douglas admitted it had caused tension. “I so regretted any embarrassment that it caused Catherine,” he told the Daily Mail, adding, “And her family.”
