Cancer survivor Michael Douglas has claimed Catherine Zeta-Jones broke down under the stress of his illness because of her \u201cWelsh background\u201d.\nDouglas, 66, was given the all-clear from throat cancer in January. But his 41-year-old wife was admitted to a US clinic for five days earlier this month where she was diagnosed with a mild form of bipolar disorder.
\nIt is thought it was brought on by the strain of her husband\u2019s fight against cancer and sticking by him when his son Cameron was jailed for serious drug offences last year.
\nAt the same time, she has also been at her husband\u2019s side as he faced multi-million-dollar legal action from ex-wife Diandra.
\nSpeaking on the Oprah Winfrey show in the US to an audience of millions, Douglas said while he \u201cgot on with it\u201d his wife showed typical British \u201cstiff upper lip\u201d and bottled up her feelings.
\nHe told the legendary TV show host: \u2018I think that part of Catherine\u2019s whole background, she\u2019s Welsh and with the Welsh it\u2019s all stiff upper lip, not let your feelings show.\u2019
\nDouglas agreed with Oprah that his health battle led to problems for his wife.
\nHe said: \u2018When you\u2019ve got cancer you\u2019ve got to take care of business. They tell you you have seven weeks of chemo, radiation, you kind of dive in and do it\u2019.
\n\u2018I\u2019m the kind of person when they\u2019re sick, I just curl up, I don\u2019t like a lot of fuss and no attention. I just like to get on with it. So I got on with it\u2019.
\nBut Zeta-Jones, who has two children, Dylan, 10, and Carys, eight, with Douglas, was feeling the strain.
\nDouglas candidly admitted the past 18 months had been what he called \u201charrowing\u201d not only for him but for his Swansea-born wife.
\nHe explained: \u201cIn my last year and a half my eldest son is in federal prison, my ex-wife is suing me, and I got cancer. It\u2019s kind of hard for the wife to say, \u2018I\u2019m depressed\u2019.
\n\u2018That played a big part of it, she\u2019s got to be stoic and deal with all the stuff I\u2019m going through. Probably the time I\u2019m off the hook you finally relax\u2019. Douglas made it clear he was \u201cso proud\u201d his wife had the strength to seek treatment for her condition. He said it had helped her immensely.
\nHe said: \u2018She\u2019s great now, she\u2019s shooting a movie and she\u2019s relieved she has a much better understanding because this was not something where she was clearly aware of what was going on.\u2019
\nAsked how his cancer fight had changed him, Douglas was close to tears. Of his son Cameron\u2019s current jail term for selling highly addictive crystal meth, Douglas said he was \u201cin real good positive shape\u201d.
\nHe said The Oprah Winfrey Show was apparently must-see TV with his son\u2019s other inmates, or, as Douglas put it to Oprah, \u2018Your show is very popular in the house.\u2019
\nCameron, serving five years, is Douglas\u2019 son with ex-wife Diandra, who divorced the actor in 2000. She has been seeking a share of the star\u2019s fee from his 2010 movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
\nDouglas\u2019 next film project is to play larger-than-life entertainer Liberace in a biopic co-starring Bourne movies star Matt Damon, who will play Scott Thorson, Liberace\u2019s younger lover.
\nZeta-Jones, whose mother Pat has flown from her home in Mumbles to help her, is currently filming the \u201csoccer mom\u201d comedy Playing the Field in Louisiana with Scottish star Gerard Butler.
\nIn his interview with Oprah, Douglas said his wife decided it was better to let people know about her illness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"