Michael Douglas claims Kobe Bryant would ‘stop by’ wife Catherine Zeta-Jones’ house ‘a lot’ before marrying Vanessa

Michael Douglas claims Kobe Bryant would "stop by" wife Catherine Zeta-Jones' house 'a lot' before marrying Vanessa.

The L.A. Lakers superstar and Mark of Zorro actress were neighbors in the late 1990s when she was dating Douglas.

The couple got engaged in December 1999, five months before Bryant proposed to Vanessa.

Back when Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones were newly dating, and trying to make their long-distance relationship work, the actor had competition closer to home: her neighbor, Kobe Bryant .

After meeting in France in 1998, the couple struggled to spend time together as Douglas was based in New York and the 29-year-old Mask of Zorro actress lived in Los Angeles. "She had a house in the Palisades, right below Kobe Bryant's," the Fatal Attraction star writes in his new memoir, One Helluva Ride .

At the time, the L.A. Lakers superstar hadn't yet met Vanessa Laine, who would become his wife two years later in 2001.

"Apparently Kobe kept finding excuses to stop by Catherine's house," recalls Douglas, who is 25 years older than the Chicago actress. "I'm not sure how many times he 'lost his dog,' but it was a lot!"

Zeta-Jones' film career was on the rise, and productions like Sean Connery's Entrapment and High Fidelity with John Cusack kept her away from L.A. (and Bryant). "But we started talking on the phone pretty regularly," says Douglas, "until we could finally see each other again."

The couple got engaged on New Year's Eve 1999, five months before Bryant proposed to Laine in May 2000.

Zeta-Jones reflected on her time as Bryant's neighbor when the five-time NBA champion and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were tragically killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, along with seven others all on their way to a basketball game.

In an Instagram tribute, she noted that it had been 24 years — ironically, the same number Bryant wore for the Lakers — since they first crossed paths in the Palisades when they were "both young and ambitious."

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"We met the day he moved in through his dog , that started to, and continued to wander in to my garden," Zeta-Jones revealed.

From her home, Zeta-Jones could see Bryant's private basketball court, giving her a glimpse into his greatness. "I watched his talent and dedication, yet how could I have known that he was to become what he became," she mused. "Being a Daddy today took his life and that of his precious daughter. Unimaginable loss to all. Love to the families."

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