‘That’s what’s been tough for me in lockdown, being away from Mam and Dad’
CATHERINE Zeta-Jones has been following lockdown rules with husband Michael Douglas as the coronavirus pandemic shut down countries across the globe.
It meant Swansea-born ZetaJones has been unable to see her parents, who live in Wales.
Speaking to ITV Lorraine’s Ross King about the past three months during lockdown, she said: “That’s what’s been tough for me in lockdown, being away from Mam and Dad, thank God we have the ability to see each other [on video calls].
“We all live such distanced lives and it takes a time like this to appreciate those who are close to you.”
She added: “I’ve been watching as the world goes through this and sending all my best vibes out to everybody.
“What we did do, we abided by the rules. My kids were all back, all of a sudden my kids’ friends were back. It’s hard for us to go, ‘No, let’s not sneak off and have a party with your friends’.”
Asked who is more annoying in lockdown, she or Douglas, she said: “I’ve got to be really careful. I’m going to say me, I’m going to take it upon myself.
“We’re very lucky and we had a new puppy. He always takes the focus off anything that’s going a little awry.”
Later this year the couple will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, and the star of Chicago and recent Facebook Watch series Queen America said: “They said it would never last. I have a great blueprint of marriage both with my own parents and Michael’s father and stepmother and what a good marriage means and how precious that is and how you work at it and sustain it and appreciate it. So yeah, 20 years.”
Talking about her future acting plans, she said: “I’ve had such a fantastic career on stage and on film. My husband is 25 years older than me, he’s having great success on his Netflix show. I’m really looking forward to finding the right thing. I feel very blessed that I can wait that out, to find the right thing.”
She added that she’s learned a lot about herself while being in lockdown. “What I found out about myself is how crucial a structure is in my life. I was watching all these actresses and people in the media who seem to be able to do everything in quarantine, they’re baking and making bread and sourdough... I did make an ‘English Tea’. I made the scones, I had some resemblance of clotted cream, it kind of tasted like it.”
It isn’t just Zeta-Jones who has acquired a new way of looking at life, she is hoping that the world itself comes out of the global lockdown a more “accepting” place.
When talking about the Black Lives Matter movement, she said: “This is such a humbling time for the world. Whatever nationality you are, whatever colour you are, whatever sex you are, it’s a very humbling time.
“And if there were a time where it’s come to this big crescendo, it’s now. I hope that there is a transition into a much more peaceful, loving, accepting world.”