Michael Douglas reveals his rival for Catherine Zeta-Jones was Kobe Bryant... as he bares all about their tumultuous marriage

Michael Douglas revealed that in the early flush of his romance with Catherine Zeta-Jones, he was vying with Kobe Bryant for her attention.

In his new memoir One Helluva Ride, Douglas, 82, explains that he met Zeta-Jones, 57, at the Deauville American Film Festival in France in 1998.

However, their relationship was initially conducted long-distance, as he lived in New York and she was based in the upscale Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.

Zeta-Jones's home was situated 'right below' the one owned by Bryant, who was then 20 and had joined the Los Angeles Lakers two years earlier.

'Apparently Kobe kept finding excuses to stop by Catherine’s house,' Douglas writes. 'I’m not sure how many times he "lost his dog," but it was a lot!'

One year later, Bryant met high school senior Vanessa Laine, who eventually became his wife in 2001 and with whom he welcomed four daughters.

The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Zeta-Jones for comment.

The Welsh actress fondly recalled her time as Bryant's neighbor when she posted an Instagram tribute to him in January 2020, after his tragic death in a helicopter crash.

'We met the day he moved in through his dog, that started to, and continued to wander in to my garden,' she explained in the caption.

Noting that they were both 'young and ambitious,' she divulged that she had a view into his private basketball court and 'watched his talent and dedication' in practice.

Douglas wrote in his book that when he and Zeta-Jones first struck up their romance, she was frequently out of Los Angeles because of her film career, which saw her traveling to shoot Entrapment with Sean Connery and High Fidelity with John Cusack.

'I knew that routine well,' mused Douglas. 'But we started talking on the phone pretty regularly, until we could finally see each other again.'

Douglas and Zeta-Jones welcomed their son Dylan in August 2000 and married at the iconic Plaza Hotel on New York's Fifth Avenue that November.

Their daughter Carys, whom Zeta-Jones was heavily pregnant with when she danced at the Oscars and won best supporting actress for Chicago, arrived in April 2003.

The marriage was not without its rough patches, particularly in the early 2010s as Douglas battled throat cancer and Zeta-Jones was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. 

The couple briefly separated in 2013 but quickly fell back into each other's arms later that year, with Douglas divulging he and Zeta-Jones were 'working things out.' 

While promoting his new memoir, Douglas insisted the split was 'mutual' and firmly shot down the suggestion that he 'won her back,' in the Sunday Times.

'You know, we had our problems but I love her dearly and, 25 years, you know,' he said. 'I mean, I don't know about your marital status, but marriage is a lot of work, you know. And so, you know, we're good. We're in good shape. It's all I can say.'

His first marriage to model Diandra Luker lasted from 1977 until 1995 and produced a son called Cameron, now 47, whose past struggles with addiction are detailed in his father's newly published autobiography.

Douglas characterized his marriage to Luker as a 'bumpy ride' punctuated by mutual infidelity and on-off splits so frequent he lost count of them.

However, the Basic Instinct actor maintained in his book that he 'never gave up hope that we would reconcile' during his time apart from Zeta-Jones in 2013.