Michael Douglas reveals he made five phone calls to five women the day he chose Catherine Zeta-Jones

Michael Douglas didn’t just choose Catherine Zeta-Jones — he called five other women in one day to make sure she was the only one.

The two-time Oscar winner pulls back the curtain on his extraordinary life in his new memoir, "One Helluva Ride," revealing his struggle to escape his father Kirk Douglas’ towering shadow, his past affairs and drug use, his terrifying battle with stage IV cancer — and the highs and lows of his decades-long love story with the actress.

Douglas first fell head over heels for Zeta-Jones when she caught his eye in the 1998 movie "The Mask of Zorro." Douglas, who is 25 years older than Zeta-Jones, later came across an interview in which she said she liked older men.

He thought he had a chance.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS CONFIRMS SECRET AFFAIR WITH KATHLEEN TURNER ON 'ROMANCING THE STONE' SET Douglas went on to meet Zeta-Jones at the Deauville Film Festival in France .

As the evening came to an end, Douglas blurted out, "I'm going to be the father of your children." Fox News may be compensated for or earn a commission if you buy through our referral links.

Zeta-Jones wasn't exactly swept off her feet.

She knew about Douglas’ reputation as a Hollywood womanizer and remained wary of his intentions.

Douglas, however, was determined to convince her that this time he was serious.

Eventually, Zeta-Jones was willing to give Douglas a chance, but under one condition: he needed to be monogamous.

WATCH: MICHAEL DOUGLAS SHARES LESSONS ON CANCER, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY "I'm not interested in dating you if you're dating other people," she told him.

"You can either continue with them or end it and be with me." That day, Douglas wrote , he made five phone calls to five women he was seeing who lived in different cities.

"Just after my marriage , I had been seeing five other women," he wrote.

"They knew I was recently separated and in the process of getting a divorce.