Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas' secret for saving their 24-year marriage is reportedly spending more time apart, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Catherine, 54, and Michael, 79, confessed their May-December relationship has had its share of ups and downs over the more than two decades they've been together.
TheFatal Attraction stud's battled alcoholism, tongue cancer and allegations of being a sex addict while Catherine's been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and battled depression.
The stars even split in 2013 but reconciled after therapy. With their kids, Dylan, 23, and Carys, 20, grown up, the couple reportedly found they were spending large chunks of time together with only each other to talk to — which was hindering their hopes of living happily ever after.
"Their children have always been their number one priority, but now that the kids are off on their own, they had to come up with a plan to keep from getting on each other's nerves," an insider spilled to the National Enquirer.
"Catherine suggested they go their own ways more often, pursuing their individual hobbies and projects," the source said, especially since movie roles for both of them have dried up in recent years.
Michael has started mentoring young actors as well as students at his alma mater, the University of California at Santa Barbara. He's also said to be looking for projects to produce.
"Catherine is keeping busy with her hobbies — sewing and gardening — and she's playing a lot of golf with friends," the tipster added.
"They also agreed to stay away from heavy topics that might lead to arguments," the insider noted.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Catherine and Michael's reps for comment.
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As this outlet reported, sources revealed to us that Catherine and Michael were living separate lives — and planned to offload their longtime vacation home in Bermuda.
Catherine was said to be on a charity golf tour in Europe while Michael was tucked away in their Upstate New York home on the Hudson River.
"The marriage is over, but they don't want to do the whole divorce and separation thing," the insider told RadarOnline.com. "So, they have this arrangement that's working for them because nobody knows about it. They are definitely living separate lives."
Now that their children are grown, the source said the couple's age difference has been magnified.
"They’re hitting 23 years together, and he’s going into his 80s, and she's still young at 53," the insider said. "Their marriage was never really the same after they reconciled following their brief split."
"Since she was suffering from bipolar at the time, she didn't want to separate from him. So, they got back together publicly but remained separated."
