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catherine michael© Photo: Getty Images

Who did Catherine Zeta-Jones date before marrying Michael Douglas?

The No Reservations actress was previously engaged to Angus Mcfayden

Beatriz Colon
Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
February 28, 2023
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Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas are arguably one of Hollywood's most famous and beloved couples, and they are still going strong after 23 years of marriage.

However, the Ant-Man: Quantumania actor, 78, is far from the only famous star the No Reservations actress, 53, has dated.

The Welsh star first entered the scene after starring in Philippe de Broca's 1990 film1001 Nights, and both her success and relationships began receiving media attention after her role in ITV's The Darling Buds of May, which ran from 1991 to 1993.

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It was during the same two years she was on the British comedy that she was dating John Leslie, a Scottish former television and radio host she met at an after party following a Chesney Hawkes concert.

At the time, it was widely reported that their break-up after eighteen months together was due to Catherine wanting to settle down and start a family, though John insisted to the Daily Express some years later: "She was lovely, we were together for eighteen months, but in the end it didn't work out, and no, it wasn't because she wanted marriage and babies and I wasn't ready to commit."

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Following her relationship with John, she later dated and was engaged to Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen; after fifteen months together, they called off their engagement in 1996.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Angus Macfayden© Photo: Getty Images

The former couple at the premiere of Braveheart in 1996

Catherine also dated former hairdresser turned Hollywood mega-producer Jon Peters, who was famously in a relationship with Barbra Streisand from 1973 to 1992.

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From actors and producers in Hollywood, she moved on to singers, and briefly dated Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall, in 1998, and David Essex. In 1999, she and David recorded a duet together: a rendition of True Love Both Ways, originally written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas in 1999© Photo: Getty Images

Catherine and Michael at the premiere of The Muse in Los Angeles in 1999

It was not long after that she finally met her future husband, Michael.

It was love at first sight for the actor, who requested a meeting with his future wife after watching her in The Mask of Zorro in 1998. They tied the knot in 2000. They share daughter Carys, 19, and Dylan, 22.

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